TEHRAN, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Three Iranian fishermen were detained by Qatari coastal guards in the Arab country's waters in the Persian Gulf.
The detained people, from Assaluyeh port of Iran's southern Boushehr province, were busy fishing in a boat near the oil rigs of Qatar, the Chief of Fishery Organization of Assaluyeh port, Abdolhossein Bahreini, was quoted by official IRNA news agency as saying.
The Iranian boat did not receive the required licence for fishing, and since it did not observe the marine border regulations, it was stopped and its crew were detained, Bahreini said.
The Iranian side is investigating the case and is trying to free the fishermen, he said without detailing on the time of arrest.
It is a frequent drama among the Persian Gulf littoral states for their fishermen to infringe, either deliberately or unwittingly, the marine regulations and to be detained by one another's coastal guards.