Tehran: The hardline Iranian media has dubbed the US Navy’s rescue operation of 13 Iranian fishermen held by pirates, as `Hollywood dramatisation of a routine event`, while the government has welcomed it as a “positive humanitarian gesture”.
The US announced on Friday that an American Navy destroyer rescued the fishermen on Thursday, over 40 days after their boat was commandeered by suspected Somali pirates in the northern Arabian Sea. The rescue came just days after Tehran warned the US to keep its warships out of the Persian Gulf. According to The New York Daily News, the Iranian government welcomed the rescue calling it a “humanitarian gesture”. “The rescue of Iranian sailors by American forces is considered a humanitarian gesture and we welcome this behavior,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.
Whereas Iran`s hardline Fars news agency had a different take, and accused the US of staging a “Hollywood drama”. The news agency report noted that attacks by Somali pirates in the region are common and said that Iran`s Navy has itself freed many mariners held by pirates in recent years without seeking to highly publicise it. “Basically, rescuing trading and fishing boats from the hands of pirates in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden is considered a completely normal issue,” the news agency said.
“A US helicopter filming the rescue operation from the first minute makes it look like a Hollywood drama with specific locations and actors. It shows the Americans tried to publicise it through the media and present the American warship as a saviour,” it added.
ANI