Twenty-one fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were stranded in Iran, have been released and will be repatriated in batches starting 3 August, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday.

“I am happy to inform that 21 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were stranded at Nakhitaghi (Iran) have been released with the efforts of Indian Embassy in Iran and our Consulate at Bandar Abbas. We are repatriating them to Chennai in batches starting from August 3,” Swaraj tweeted.

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Last month, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the Indian Embassy in Iran to take necessary steps for bringing back the 21 Tamil Nadu fishermen stranded in that country.

DMK MP Kanimozhi had also met Swaraj and urged her to bring back the Indian fishermen. Kanimozhi had also written to the minister stating, “This is to bring to your notice about the predicament of 21 Indian citizens who are working as fishermen in Iran. All of them hailing from three southern districts of Tamil Nadu, namely Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli, have been working in Iran for the past six months.”