Iran detains UAE ship amid row on territorial waters

Iran on Thursday has detained a ship belonging to the UAE after signs of warming ties among the two countries gave way to fresh row, with both sides accusing each other of violating their territorial waters.

The Foreign Ministry of Iran on Thursday said it had summoned the UAE ambassador in Tehran after the Emirati coast killed two Iranian fishermen in the Gulf.

The foreign ministry, in a statement on Thursday said it had conveyed strong opposition over the incident and communicated its protest to the envoy on Tuesday, a day after the incident took place.

Iran claimed that the UAE coast guards had detained the Iranian fishermen and seized one of the vessels.

Tehran has asked the UAE to at once free the seized boat and fishermen. It also demanded the bodies of the two slain fishermen and compensation.

Meanwhile, The Emirati media reported that the Iranian vessels had “illegally entered” UAE territorial waters near Sir Bu Nair Island in the Persian Gulf.

In a retaliatory move, Iran in turn seized a UAE ship on Monday and detained its crew, accusing them of illegally entering Iran’s territorial waters.

Tensions between the two countries have been intensifying since Iran’s protest over the UAE’s normalization of ties last week with Israel, whom Iran considers an “illegitimate entity.”