Three Finnish men working for a mobile phone company in Dubai have been detained by Iran while fishing near a disputed island in the Gulf, the Finnish embassy said today.
The three had apparently drifted into Iranian-controlled waters accidentally while on an angling trip from the United Arab Emirates, said Esa Hurtig, charge d'affaires at the Finnish embassy in Abu Dhabi.
Mobile telecoms equipment firm Nokia Siemens Networks said the three men worked for it in the trade and tourism hub of Dubai.
"There are three Finnish citizens who were fishing and strayed into an off-limits area near Abu Musa island. This is a sensitive area and it happens," Hurtig said.
"They were detained by the Iranians. We are trying to resolve this issue. I think this will be resolved." The three were detained on Saturday.
Earlier this year, Iran released a German and a Frenchman who had been held for more than a year after being picked up near Abu Musa while on a fishing trip from Dubai. The pair had been convicted of illegally entering Iranian waters.
"We have been talking to the government of Finland, who have been reaching out to their Iranian counterparts," Nokia Siemens Networks spokesman Barry French said.
The United Arab Emirates and Iran have full diplomatic ties and strong trade links, and are embroiled in a three-decade dispute over three strategic islands in the Gulf, through which a third of the world's sea-borne crude oil passes.