Iran seizes Saudi fishing boat after crossing into water border

Naval forces from Iran's Revolutionary Guard seized a Saudi fishing boat near a Persian island in the south of the country on Saturday, the public relations office of the fishing department in Bushehr province said.

"There were five fishermen of Indian nationality on board the boat, who crossed the water border of Iran, where they were fishing when they were detained," the official Fars News Agency reported.

The IRGC handed over the detainees to the judicial authorities in Bushehr province, southern Iran, according to IRNA news agency.

But this is not the first time such an incident has occurred.

Earlier this month, Saudi coastguards shot and killed an Iranian fisherman who reportedly entered Saudi waters, exacerbating tensions between the regional rivals.

"Two fishing boats were in the Persian Gulf and strayed due to high waves," Majid Aghababaie, head of border affairs at Iran's interior ministry, said in a statement published by Iranian media at the time.

"The Saudi coastguard say the boats entered Saudi waters and killed one of the fishermen."

On June 17, the Saudi Coast Guard fired at an Iranian fishing boat because it crossed the border, killing a fisherman, and others were detained.

The boat was sailing in the common water border between the two countries when the incident occurred, according to Iranian sites at the time, without specifying the reasons.