The body of a killed seafarer and eight crew of the cargo ship Ana return to Iran a week after an attack in Russian waters

The Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Astrakhan, Russia, said in a statement on Sunday, 2 August 2026 (11 Mordad 1405), that the body of a seafarer killed in a Ukrainian attack on the cargo ship Ana in the waters of the Russian Federation, along with eight of the ship's crew and the vessel's owner, had returned to Iran a week after the incident. The statement was carried by ISNA.

According to the statement, over that period the consulate obtained the necessary permits from the relevant Russian authorities, followed the legal procedures and the questioning of the crew, and issued travel documents for the crew because their identity papers had been destroyed or lost during the incident. A Pouya Air flight left Astrakhan for Rasht at 16:30 the same day and landed at Rasht's Sardar-e Jangal International Airport at 17:45.

The crew and the body of the killed seafarer were received by the governor of Gilan province and a group of provincial officials, and the body was transferred to his birthplace, Bandar Anzali, for a funeral and burial. The consulate thanked Iran's ambassador in Moscow for his follow up, the governor of Gilan for his support and Pouya Air for its cooperation. The Caspian Sea route is one of Iran's trade corridors with Russia, and its security bears on freight and insurance costs along that route.