Crew of ship seized by Iran are safe, operator MSC says

(Reuters) - The 25 crew members of the MSC Aries, which was seized by Iran on April 13, are safe, shipping firm MSC said on Wednesday, adding that discussions with Iranian authorities are in progress to secure their earliest release.

"We are also working with the Iranian authorities to have the cargo discharged," the company said in a news release.

Portugal's foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador on Tuesday to condemn Saturday's attack on Israel by Tehran and to demand the immediate release of the Portuguese-flagged container ship.

MSC leases the Aries from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime. Zodiac is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.

(This story has been corrected to fix reporting credit)

(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely)