Iranian ship defied six hours of warnings, and the U.S. acted.

U.S. evacuates 22 crew members from seized Iranian vessel, hands them to Pakistan for return to Tehran

The United States evacuated 22 crew members from the Iranian container ship Touska and transferred them to Pakistan, where officials said they would be handed over to Iranian authorities on Monday.

The move follows last month's seizure of the vessel off Iran's Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman, one more chapter in an escalating series of maritime confrontations between Washington and Tehran.

Pakistan's foreign ministry described the crew transfer as a "confidence-building measure" and said the Touska itself would be moved into Pakistani territorial waters for return to its owners after necessary repairs.

The diplomatic choreography puts Pakistan in the middle, a transit point for crew and ship alike, while the broader standoff between the U.S. and Iran remains unresolved.

The seizure of the Touska fits a pattern that has defined the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks. Since the U.S. and Israel declared a fragile ceasefire with Iran roughly four weeks ago, neither side has settled into anything resembling peace.

Instead, Washington and Tehran have traded naval confrontations and seized each other's commercial vessels in a tit-for-tat that has kept international shipping lanes on edge.

Read more about Iran's defiance