More than 200 Iranian sailors who were rescued by Sri Lanka from two sinking warships at the start of the war have been sent back to their home, a senior official has said.
Sri Lankan forces rescued 32 Iranian crew members from the warship Iris Dena on 4 March after it was struck by torpedo fired by a US submarine, while it was returning from a naval exercise organised by India. Another 208 were rescued from the Iris Booshehr on 5 March, after it requested assistance from Colombo when it ran into engine trouble.
The country’s deputy defence minister Aruna Jayasekera said the crews of both ships “were flown out about 11pm on a special flight on Tuesday night”.
They had been granted 30-day entry visas by Sri Lanka and were housed in navy and air force camps, before arrangements were made for their return to Iran.
A chartered plane arranged by Iran also took back the bodies of 84 crew members from the Dena who were killed in the US attack.
The Iris Dena – one of Iran’s newest warships – was a Moudge-class frigate that patrols in deep water for the Iranian navy. It sank following the US attack, which killed at least 104 sailors.
The ship was struck in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka to much fanfare from US officials but condemnation elsewhere. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth described the Iris Dena as a “prize ship” and said it “died a quiet death”.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi described the attack as “an atrocity at sea” and stressed that it had been “a guest of India’s Navy”.
The attack came as part of the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on 28 February and which officials from Tehran and Washington sought – but failed – to bring to a permanent end during peace talks in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Saturday. Negotiations continue.
The Iris Dena warship had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading into international waters on its way home. At least 74 countries had joined the events, according to India’s Defense Ministry, including the U.S. Navy, which conducted reconnaissance aircraft and maritime patrol drills.
After its crew was offloaded in Colombo on 5 March, the Iris Booshehr was towed to waters off Sri Lanka’s eastern coast of Trincomalee.
