TEHERAN: Ten Iranian fishermen who went missing in Gulf waters weeks ago are alive in the United Arab Emirates and set to travel home soon, Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday.
Mohammad Soleimani, head of the ministry's representative office in Hormozgan province, said 13 fishermen had been missing since early August, amid concerns they may have been arrested after entering the territorial waters of neighbouring countries.
"Today, the UAE informed our embassy in Abu Dhabi that 10 of these fishermen are in the country and can leave from there," Soleimani said, according to the Iranian state broadcaster.
"Given that these individuals did not have their passports with them, the embassy of our country issued them travel documents, and they will return to Hormozgan on the first flight this week," he added.
There was no immediate response from the UAE on the report, and Soleimani added that "there is still no information about the other three missing fishermen."
"But we are continuing to follow up on their status in neighbouring countries," he said.
The development follows an announcement by Iran's embassy in the UAE in July that 55 detained Iranian fishermen had returned home following efforts by the embassy in Abu Dhabi and consulate in Dubai.
The latest returns come as the Strait of Hormuz remains a flashpoint in the conflict between Iran and the United States, with Teheran maintaining its closure of the strategic waterway and the two sides trading fire again on Monday after more than a month of relative calm.
Iranian media have also reported another case involving fishermen missing since May.
In August, IRNA reported that 17 fishermen from the southern port of Konarak, on the Sea of Oman, had been missing since May after their fishing boat, the Shahin 2, lost contact with other vessels when a US helicopter fired flares to disperse fishing boats about 70 nautical miles off Oman's coast.
