Sri Lanka Gives Shelter To Iranian Navy Ship, 208 Crew Members

By Shakir Husain

NEW DELHI, March 6 (Bernama) -- Sri Lanka on Thursday gave shelter to an Iranian navy ship and its 208 crew members, a day after an American submarine sank an Iranian frigate in the Indian Ocean.

The auxiliary vessel IRIS Bushehr sought permission to berth in Sri Lanka after the United States (US) attacked the IRIS Dena frigate, which was on its way home after participating in a naval exercise organised by India from February 15 to 25 in Visakhapatnam.

The IRIS Bushehr personnel, including officials, cadets, and sailors, disembarked in Colombo on Thursday, and the ship is being moved to the northeastern port of Trincomalee.

Sri Lanka decided to help the Iranian ship on humanitarian grounds, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told reporters in Colombo, according to local media reports.

Sri Lanka has said it remains committed to its neutral position in the ongoing war between Iran and the US-Israel alliance.

However, the government will fulfil its international obligations in providing humanitarian assistance to the Iranian vessel and its crew, the president said.

At least 87 bodies were recovered, and 32 crew members were rescued by the Sri Lankan Navy after the Dena was destroyed by a torpedo.

The ship came under attack in international waters, about 40 kilometres off the coast of Galle.

Iran has vowed to avenge the attack.

"The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X on Thursday.

"The US will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set," he added.

-- BERNAMA