Iran releases 9 Indian sailors jailed for oil smuggling

TEHRAN, Oct. 14 (MNA) – Iran has released 9 Indian sailors who served a two-year sentence in jail on charges of smuggling oil, prompting Indian FM Swaraj to express her deepest appreciation to Iran’s FM Zarif. India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday on her Twitter account expressed her deepest approbation to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over the release of the 9 Indian sailors; "Iran has released nine Indian sailors --Thank you Iran. Thank you Javad Zarif for a prompt action on our request," Swaraj tweeted. According to her Tweet, the release of the sailors have been secured and they will reach Delhi today. These Indian sailors were fined and sentenced to two years in jail in Iran on charges of smuggling oil. Meanwhile, there is no update on the fate of the 12 Iranians crew members detained on July 5 in India’s southern coast, Kerala. Iranian consul general in India Morad Ali Eslami speaking to IRNA in August criticized the prolonged process to release the Iranians seized on aboard a fishing boat, calling for their immediate release.