CENTCOM: American Ships Rescued 5 Iranian Sailors

On Tuesday, February 19, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that two U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships rescued seven sailors, including five Iranians, in the waters of the Persian Gulf. According to CENTCOM, these two American ships responded to a distress call from the crew of an Iranian commercial vessel named 'Shayesteh,' which was sinking, and rescued five Iranian sailors and two Indian sailors. CENTCOM added on the social media platform 'X' that the 'Shayesteh' sank after the rescue of these seven crew members. Based on CENTCOM's report, the crew of this Iranian ship, which was flying the Qatari flag as is common in the region, called for help after losing balance. CENTCOM stated that the rescued sailors were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard ship named 'Clarence Sutphin Jr.' and are receiving medical assistance. This is not the first time that Iranian sailors in distress in the region have been rescued by American forces. In September of this year, the U.S. Central Command announced that forces stationed on the aircraft carrier 'Theodore Roosevelt' rescued two lost Iranian civilian sailors from international waters on September 24. A ship carrying two million barrels of Iranian oil destined for China suffered an accident and fire. A $4 million heroin shipment was seized by the U.S. Navy; the crew of the vessel are 'Iranian citizens.' A U.S. Navy ship rescued two Iranian sailors. An Iranian fishing vessel was rescued in the area covered by CENTCOM.