US Navy rescues Iranian, Indian mariners from sinking vessel in Persian Gulf
US Navy and Coast Guard vessels rescued five Iranian and two Indian mariners from their sinking Iranian commercial ship, the M/V Shayesteh in the Persian Gulf.
US Navy and Coast Guard vessels rescued five Iranian and two Indian mariners from their sinking Iranian commercial ship, the M/V Shayesteh in the Persian Gulf.
The vessel, owned by an Iranian company, was flying a Qatari flag, a common practice for commercial ships operating in territorial waters, the US Central Command said on Tuesday.
The USS Devastator and the USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr responded to a mayday call issued by the Shayesteh, which ultimately sank.
All seven mariners were safely recovered from the abandoned vessel and are currently receiving medical care aboard the USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr.
CENTCOM did not provide further details.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says the Islamic Republic does not seek conflict but faces external pressures from countries he accuses of fueling instability.
“We are not seeking war… We seek peace and tranquility,” Pezeshkian said Monday, according to semi-official ISNA news agency.
He criticized Western nations for what he called hypocrisy in their human rights advocacy, referencing the civilian death toll in Gaza.
“They massacred more than 18,000 young people and buried 20,000 women under the rubble, yet they claim to champion human rights,” he said.
Elsewhere in his remarks Pezeshkian hailed the role of science in addressing Iran’s challenges, urging reliance on scholars and elites. “There are many paths, but our solution lies in science,” he noted.
He also warned that domestic divisions fuel external hostility, saying, “Unnecessary conflicts encourage the greed of our enemies.”
The president’s remarks come amid international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, and its backing of armed groups across the Middle East.
It also comes after a statement from the G7 at the Munich Security Conference blamed Tehran for being the cause for regional instability.
“The G7 members unequivocally condemned Iran’s destabilizing actions, including its rapid advancement of uranium enrichment without credible civil justification, its facilitation of terrorism organizations and armed groups across the Middle East and Red Sea, its proliferation of ballistic missiles and drones, and its transnational repression and violation of fundamental human rights,” read the statement issued on Saturday.
Pezeshkian previously echoed similar calls for peace during a visit to Tajikistan last month, but has rejected nuclear negotiations with the United States in accordance with a directive by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The Lebanese government has banned Iranian flights landing in Beirut twice in the last week for fears that Israel may shoot them down, according to AFP.
The US gave warnings to Lebanon that Israel may take military action as Iran-backed Hezbollah continues to use the airport to bring in weapons and money from Iran amid a US-France brokered ceasefire, the report said. Hezbollah and Iran deny the allegations.
A statement on Hezbollah media Al Mayadeen, responded to contest the closure: “Hezbollah demands that the Lebanese government reverse its decision of preventing the Iranian plane from landing at Beirut airport and take serious measures to prevent the Israeli enemy from imposing its dictates and violating sovereignty.”
Hezbollah, designated a terrorist organization by countries such as the US and UK, has been under greater scrutiny since the November ceasefire with Israel has seen the country’s army take greater control under the watch of the US and France which mediated the truce.
Last Thursday, Lebanese authorities sent word to Iran that a Beirut-bound flight should not take off.
On Friday, another flight was banned from taking off from Iran, triggering protests in Lebanon from supporters of the Iran-backed group who blocked the road to the country’s only international airport. The Lebanese army fired tear gas at protesters.
Speaking to AFP, a source said: “Through the Americans, Israel informed the Lebanese state that it would target the airport if the Iranian plane landed in Lebanon.
“The American side told the Lebanese side that Israel was serious about its threat.”
Last year, The Telegraph reported that Beirut International Airport was being used by Hezbollah as a smuggling route for Iran to arm and fund Hezbollah, quoting airport whistleblowers.
The latest incidents would be classed as breaches of the fragile ceasefire, which both sides claim the other has breached dozens of times.
Last week, Lebanese media also reported that flights into Beirut from Iraq were undergoing extra scrutiny to ensure they were not being used by Iran to send cash to Hezbollah.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that if Tehran's enemies strike the country's nuclear facilities, the country's youth will be ready to simply rebuild, after reports about possible Israeli attack on the country’s nuclear program this year.
"They threaten us that they will hit nuclear facilities... If you (the enemy) strike a hundred of those we will build a thousand other ones," Pezeshkian said during a speech in Bushehr, home to one of Iran’s biggest nuclear plants.
"You can hit the buildings and places but you cannot hit those who build it... you cannot erase the minds of our scientists.”
US President Donald Trump raised on Monday the possibility of Israel hitting Iran in an interview with Fox News saying he would prefer to make a deal with Iran to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
"Everyone thinks Israel, with our help or our approval, will go in and bomb the hell out of them. I would prefer that not to happen," Trump said.
On Thursday, the commander of Iran's conventional air force Hamid Vahedi said: "We tell all countries, friends and foes alike, that our country's doctrine is defensive, but we will respond with force against any enemy attack."
Tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and Israel punctuated last year's Gaza conflict as the years long shadow war between the two archenemies came out in the open.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Israel is considering attacks on Iran's nuclear sites and views its Mideast adversary as vulnerable, citing US intelligence agencies’ assessments in the waning days of the Joe Biden administration.
In January, Iran's atomic energy chief said that thousands of workers are currently involved in constructing the second and third units of the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
"Currently, 5,000 people are involved in the construction of the two new units," Mohammad Eslami said during a visit to the site, adding, "Their efforts are ensuring the project progresses with good discipline and speed."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's trip to the Middle East will heavily focus on countering the destabilizing activities of Iran and its proxies, as well as securing the release of hostages held by Hamas, the State Department announced.
Rubio's itinerary includes stops in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates from February 15-18, following participation in the Munich Security Conference and G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting starting February 13.
The State Department emphasized that discussions with senior officials will center on advancing regional cooperation, stability, and peace,with a key component being addressing the threat posed by Iran.
“The trip will center on freeing American and all other hostages from Hamas captivity, advancing to Phase II of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and countering the destabilizing activities of the Iranian regime and its proxies.”
On February 4, Trump signed a directive reviving his so-called maximum pressure policy on Iran from his first term aimed at driving the Islamic Republic's oil exports to zero. After signing the memorandum, he said he would prefer a deal with Tehran to an Israeli attack on their nuclear sites.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted on Wednesday that the country would not yield to external threats after US President Donald Trump mooted the bombing of its adversary earlier this week.
Iran and Oman have taken significant steps to boost bilateral trade, including resolving key banking issues and eliminating trade tariffs, the head of the Iran-Oman Joint Chamber of Commerce said on Sunday.
In an interview with state-affiliated ILNA, Jamal Razeghi Jahromi said that economic stakeholders can now open accounts for both personal and corporate purposes, adding that the changes aim to unlock the full potential of the two nations' ties and reach a target of $20 billion in annual trade.
“The main challenge Iranian investors faced in Oman was the inability to open bank accounts there. Part of these issues has been resolved, and the rest are under review," he said.
Iran is under tough US banking sanctions and on the blacklist of international watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force, FATF. If Iranian companies open bank accounts in Oman, it can help them maintain business ties with other countries. However, many of these companies are government owned entities or controlled by Iran's military.
Razeghi added that Iran and Oman have had a historically strong political relationship over the past 70 years, but trade has not kept pace.
Despite annual trade growth between 42% and 60% in the last three years, the initial trade volume was low, preventing the achievement of the targeted $5 billion in trade for the current Iranian year, which ends on March 20. He projects trade to reach $3-$3.5 billion by the year's end.
"The value of trade between Iran and Oman should reach at least $20 billion per year, and if this figure is not achieved, the friendly political relations between the two countries will not have any achievements for either side," Razeghi said.
To address this, a joint committee has been established to identify and resolve obstacles hindering trade growth, he added.
“Trade tariffs were one of the obstacles hindering trade between the two countries. This obstacle was resolved thanks to the new agreement that can effectively reduce trade tariffs to zero when implemented,” he said, referring to a deal signed during a recent visit by Iran's Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Atabak to Muscat.
At the 21st Joint Cooperation Meeting in Muscat last week, Atabak announced the tariff agreement, saying, “The elimination of tariffs between Iran and Oman marks an important step in fostering economic cooperation, and the implementation will begin next week.”
Measures to streamline logistics were also discussed during the minister’s trip to Muscat. A major challenge in Iran-Oman trade has been the lack of a direct and regular shipping line.
Oman has now agreed to subsidize 50% of the costs for such a line for six months to a year, with Iran's Trade Promotion Organization covering the remainder.
While this subsidy is crucial to address underutilized shipping capacity, Razeghi stressed the need for increased trade volume to make the shipping line economically viable in the long term.
Razeghi also talked about a two-year-old initiative encouraging Iranian manufacturers to complete the final 30% of their production chain in Oman.
This strategy potentially allows them to leverage Oman's existing zero-tariff trade agreements with 16 other countries, including the United States. It will also allow Iranian products manufactured in Oman to enter international markets tariff-free.
Oman attracted approximately $140 billion in foreign investment last year, demonstrating its potential as a regional economic hub, Razeghi said, noting that while cooperation opportunities exist across various industries, overcoming sanctions and addressing Iran's non-membership in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) remain crucial for realizing the full potential of the bilateral economic relationship.
Oman's potential role as mediator
Beyond trade, Oman continues to play a vital role as a mediator between Tehran and Washington.
Last month, the Iraqi newspaper Baghdad Alyoum reported that Iran received a message from US President Donald Trump, delivered through Oman, proposing high-level talks on issues including the nuclear program, according to a source close to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration.
Additionally, during Joe Biden's administration, the Iranian mission to the United Nations confirmed that indirect contact between the US and Iran through Oman had been an ongoing process. The administration also authorized Iraq to transfer $10 billion in restricted Iranian funds to Oman.
