Release of Three Iranian Fishermen by Saudi Arabia After One Year

The public relations manager of the Fisheries Department of Bushehr Province announced that three Iranian fishermen, who were arrested by the Saudi Coast Guard in June of last year, have been released and returned to Iran. Saudi Arabia had previously identified these individuals as 'members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,' a claim that Iranian officials denied. According to the IRNA news agency, Ardshir Yarahmadi, the public relations manager of the Fisheries Department of Bushehr Province, stated on Tuesday, August 14, that the three individuals were freed after serving their sentence and following negotiations between the foreign ministries of both sides. The report identified the three individuals as Hossein Zare, Sohrab, and Hossein Aslani, whose boat had entered Saudi waters and was subsequently detained. After their arrest, Iranian officials reported that following gunfire from Saudi agents at three Iranian fishing boats, one fisherman was killed, and three others were arrested. According to Iran's Ministry of Interior, Mahmoud Siamer was killed by a bullet to the back, and his son Farhad Siamer returned to Iran with the boat. However, the Saudi Ministry of Security provided a different account, stating that the detainees were 'members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' and had approached Saudi oil platforms on 'a boat carrying weapons,' a claim denied by Iranian officials. Following this incident, fishing activities in Bushehr Province were halted for a period. No new reports have emerged regarding the status of these fishermen. A month later, two Saudi fishing vessels were stopped by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy for entering Iranian waters. In both incidents, the detainees were identified as Indian nationals, and Iran stated that decisions regarding them would be made based on 'reciprocal behavior' by Saudi Arabia towards the detained Iranian sailors. Recently, no reports have been published regarding the release or continued detention of these fishermen. The public relations manager of Bushehr Fisheries had reported in May of this year that two fishermen residing on Khark Island, who were arrested by the Saudi Coast Guard last year, were released on Friday, May 18. The crossing of fishing vessels in maritime borders leading to the detention of these vessels and their crew has been frequently reported in Iranian media and other Gulf countries in recent years, with Kuwaiti and Qatari officials also occasionally reporting the detention of Iranian vessels and their crew. The deteriorating relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have led to wider coverage of these incidents. Meanwhile, the official Saudi news agency reported on Tuesday, July 9, that the country had filed an official complaint against the Islamic Republic to the United Nations 'for violating its maritime borders.'