Egypt secures release of 2 sailors detained on ship in Iran

Egypt Secures Release of Two Sailors Detained on Ship in Iran

CAIRO – 18 August 2026: Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Egyptian Expatriates has secured the release of two Egyptian sailors who had been detained aboard the vessel “Reem Al-Bahar” at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port since January, following months of diplomatic effort, and has arranged for their departure from Iran and return home.

Egypt’s mission for the protection of interests in Tehran has completed the procedures for the sailors’ return to Egypt.

Abdelatty had made high-level contact with Iranian officials to secure the sailors’ release, and instructed Egypt’s interests-protection mission in Iran to make every effort to check on their welfare and provide all possible support.

The mission visited the two men aboard the ship, and the minister also directed the ministry’s consular sector to meet with the sailors’ families and keep them updated on developments as they occurred.

Ambassador Haddad Al-Gohary, Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs and Egyptians Abroad, received the sailors’ families at the ministry’s headquarters to brief them on the efforts that led to the men’s release and the completion of arrangements for their return to Egypt.

The head of Egypt’s interests-protection mission in Tehran also met with the two sailors before their departure from Iran en route to Cairo, to check on them and offer continued support.