The US navy has rescued thirteen Iranians held hostage by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea, the US Defense Department said Friday.
According to the Pentagon, the Iranians were held hostage on a fighting vessel which was seized by the pirates some 40 days ago. The US naval forces had boarded the hijacked Iranian vessel, the Al Molai, on Thursday after they received a distress call.
The US navy detained 15 pirates, all believed to be of Somali origin, in the operation and are currently holding them in custody on board the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis. The freed Iranians have seen been sent back to their home country.
The development comes amidst escalating tensions between Iran and western nations over Teheran's disputed nuclear program, which the US and its western allies believe is aimed at developing nuclear weapons.
Interestingly, US aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis was the focus of an Iranian threat. Iran warned of action earlier this week if the aircraft carrier returned to the Gulf. The aircraft carrier, which leads a US Navy task force in the region, had left the Persian Gulf region on December 27 through the Strait of Hormuz due to Iranian naval exercises in the Gulf. Nevertheless, Pentagon reacted by declaring that US warships would continue to remain in the Persian Gulf despite the Iranian threat.
Iran consistently denies pursuing nuclear weapons and maintains its uranium enrichment work is aimed at producing fuel for a medical-purpose reactor in Tehran. Iran insists that it has a right to pursue peaceful nuclear program as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty (NPT).
Iran has thus far survived four sets of sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. As well, the European Union member-states agreed in principle on Thursday to impose the oil embargo on Iran, the details of which is expected to be announced when EU foreign ministers meet on January 30.
Last week, Iran had threatened to stop ship movements through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil-trade route in the Indian Ocean, if the West imposes more sanctions on the Islamic Republic over its controversial nuclear program. Following the threat, the US warned Iran that it will not tolerate any disruption to the oil traffic through the strategic waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz, located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, links the oil-producing countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to the Indian Ocean. About 40 percent of the world's tanker-borne oil passes through the waterway.
While the White House said the threat reflected Iran's "position of weakness," the State Department noted the threats were "increasing evidence that the international pressure is beginning to bite there and that they are feeling increasingly isolated and they are trying to divert the attention of their own public from the difficulties inside Iran, including the economic difficulties as a result of the sanctions."
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.