TEHRAN – A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official has confirmed that ten fishermen from Bandar Lengeh who had been missing since mid-August have been located in the United Arab Emirates and are expected to return to Iran shortly.

Mohammad Soleimani, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Representative Office in Hormozgan, said the development followed intensive diplomatic efforts to determine the whereabouts of 13 fishermen who went missing in waters off Bandar Lengeh.

“Following the reports of 13 missing fishermen, there were concerns that they may have entered the territorial waters of neighboring countries and been detained,” Soleimani said, adding that Iranian authorities had been closely monitoring the situation in both the UAE and Qatar.

According to the official, the UAE government notified the Iranian Embassy in Abu Dhabi that ten of the missing fishermen had been identified within its territory and cleared to leave the country.

As the fishermen had been traveling without passports when they went missing, the Iranian Embassy issued emergency travel documents to facilitate their return.

Soleimani said the group is scheduled to return to Hormozgan Province on the first available flight this week.

The search for the three remaining fishermen, however, is continuing. Soleimani said their whereabouts remain unknown, but stressed that diplomatic channels remain active and that Iranian authorities are coordinating with neighboring countries to locate them.