Stennis group rescues Iranian vessel from pirates.

The Associated Press - Days after being warned by Iran not to return to the Persian Gulf, U.S. naval forces assigned to the John C. Stennis carrier strike group rescued an Iranian fishing vessel from pirates in the Arabian Sea, the Navy said Friday.

The incident occurred Thursday, when an SH-60S Seahawk helicopter from the guided missile destroyer Kidd detected a suspected pirate skiff alongside the Iranian-flagged fishing dhow Al Molai. Simultaneously, a distress call was received from the master of the Al Molai, claiming he was being held captive by pirates.

A team from the Kidd boarded the Al Molai and detained 15 suspected pirates who had been holding a 13-member Iranian crew hostage for several weeks, the Navy said. The Al Molai had been used as a "mother ship" for pirate operations throughout the Persian Gulf, according to members of the Iranian vessel's crew.

According to members of the Kidd boarding party, the Iranian crew said they were forced by the pirates to live in harsh conditions, under the threat of violence with limited supplies and medical aid.

The boarding party provided food, water and medical care to the crew and the suspected pirates.

The suspects did not resist the boarding and surrendered quickly, the Navy said. They are being held on the carrier Stennis while the Navy reviews the matter for possible prosecution.

"We think it's very doubtful that the Iranians or the pirates were aware of recent events of the last couple days," Rear Adm. Craig S. Faller, commander of the carrier strike group involved in the rescue, told reporters by phone Friday. "Once we released them (the fishermen) today they went on their way very happily, I might add, waving to us wearing USS Kidd Navy ball caps."

The Stennis and the Kidd are both West Coast-based ships.

On Tuesday, Iran's military chief was quoted by a semi-official Iranian news agency warning the Stennis after it passed through the Strait of Hormuz that it should not return to the Persian Gulf.

Iran has threatened to blockade the strait, a vital oil transit route, if Western nations impose threatened economic sanctions on the country.