Iran praises ‘humanitarian’ U.S. navy after pirate rescue

Iran hailed on Saturday the actions of the U.S. navy after an American warship freed 13 Iranians who had been held by pirates. “We consider the actions of the US forces in saving the lives of Iranian seamen to be a humanitarian and positive act and we welcome such behavior,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the country’s Al-Alam broadcaster. The US military said its USS Kidd warship rescued the Iranian fishermen on Thursday. The pirates, who are believed to be Somalis, were detained and the Iranian fishermen released after the U.S. navy restocked and refueled their vessel. The USS Kidd was one of several vessels accompanying the USS John C. Stennis, an aircraft carrier that Iranian military officials recently warned to stay out of the Gulf.