The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun efforts to verify the status of Nepali national Amrit Jha, who is in the custody of Iranian security forces, and to establish the circumstances of his arrest.

The ministry said Jha was among seven crew members detained from Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz. Four were released, while Jha and two Indian nationals remain in custody.

Spokesperson Lok Bahadur Poudel Chhetri said the date and reason for the arrest are still unclear. “We have confirmed he is in custody, but details of why and when he was detained remain unknown,” he said. The ministry has tasked Nepal’s honorary consul in Iran, through the embassy in Qatar, with ascertaining the facts and facilitating contact with his family.

Jha, 30, originally from ward 7 of Ekdara Rural Municipality in Mahottari, has been living with his family in ward 11 of Triyuga Municipality, Udayapur. He worked as a seaman for a Dubai-based shipping company.

According to the ministry, the vessel had departed Omani waters on December 25. Documents received do not specify when Jha was detained. Authorities are also trying to determine whether the arrest is linked to the recent conflict involving Iran, which escalated after strikes by the US and Israel from February 28.

Jha and the two Indian nationals have since been transferred from Qeshm Island to a prison in Bandar Abbas in the Hormuz region.

His employer, Black Sea Marine LLC, has hired a lawyer in Iran and filed a petition in court seeking his release. The UAE-based company operates vessels transporting crude oil.

Records from the Department of Foreign Employment show Jha left for the UAE on July 19, 2024, after receiving labour approval as a seaman. A petition filed by his family with the Department of Consular Services states he travelled from Dubai to Iran aboard the company vessel.

His sister Pooja said the family only learned of his detention after receiving a WhatsApp voice message from an unknown number.

“In the message, he said Iranian forces had taken them into custody and that some Indians were also detained,” she said. “We could not reach that number afterwards.”

She said her last phone conversation with him was on January 12, when he told her he was in Iran and would return to Nepal after completing work.

Following the message, the family filed an application with the consular department seeking assistance. They also submitted a request to the Foreign Ministry on Monday, urging immediate efforts for his release.

The development has left the family distressed. Their 70-year-old father, Govinda Jha, who runs a footwear shop in Gaighat, has kept his shop closed for the past five days.

Pooja said the family initially withheld the information from him due to his heart condition. “But we could not keep it from him for long. After hearing the news, he insisted on coming to Kathmandu,” she said.

Jha had completed his schooling in Gaighat and pursued higher education in Bengaluru, India.