Here is a call from Iran to crack down on Somali pirates. Interesting date: September 21, 2008. The Iranian ship was siezed by the pirates on
August 21, 2008.
www.tehrantimes.com...
“Failure to seriously respond to these unlawful actions will cause similar problems in other parts of the world and this would not be to the benefit
of any country,” said the spokesman.
“The major powers’ negligence in tackling this issue and their efforts to put the blame on others… will intensify the insecurity.”
The MV Iran Deyanat is owned and operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) - a state-owned company run by the Iranian military
that was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on September 10, shortly after the ship's hijacking
The syndicate set the ship's ransom at $2 million and the Iranian government provided $200,000 to a local broker "to facilitate the exchange." Iran
refutes that it agreed to the price and has paid any money to the pirates. Nevertheless, after sanctions were applied to IRISL on September 10, Osman
says, the Iranians told the pirates that the deal was off. "They told the pirates that they could not come because of the presence of the U.S.
Navy." The region is patrolled by the multinational Combined Taskforce 150, which includes ships from the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.
In a strange twist, the Iranian press claims that the U.S. has offered to pay a $7 million bribe to the pirates to "receive entry permission and
search the vessel."
Notice it was the Iranian Press that said that the U.S. offered to pay $7 Million for the ship.
Who is trying to blame what on who? It seems clear that Russia has taken a part as well. Remember there is an international team there, so it's
very unlikely that anyone will get away with hiding anything.