Washington, United States – Web Desk: The United States is urging Sri Lanka not to repatriate Iranian sailors rescued after a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, according to an internal diplomatic cable seen by Reuters.
The incident occurred about 19 nautical miles off the southern Sri Lankan port city of Galle, where a US submarine torpedoed the Iranian warship IRIS Dena earlier this week, killing dozens of sailors.
The strike marks the first such naval action by the United States since World War II, significantly widening the geographic scope of the conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States.
Sri Lankan authorities have since taken custody of crew members from another Iranian vessel, the auxiliary ship IRIS Booshehr, which had become stranded in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone but outside its maritime boundary.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the country had a humanitarian responsibility to assist the sailors.
According to the diplomatic cable dated March 6, Jayne Howell urged Sri Lankan officials not to return the crew members to Iran. The cable also stated that authorities should limit any attempts by Tehran to use the detained sailors for propaganda purposes.
The communication further indicated that neither the crew of the Booshehr nor the 32 survivors from the Dena should be sent back to Iran while the conflict continues.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has begun transferring the sailors to a naval facility near Colombo and escorting the Booshehr to a harbor on the country’s eastern coast.
Officials in Tehran have reportedly requested assistance from Sri Lanka to repatriate the bodies of those killed aboard the Dena, although a timeline has not yet been determined.
The warship had recently participated in multinational naval exercises organized by India in the Bay of Bengal before it was struck by a US torpedo while returning to Iran.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the strike as a “quiet death,” while a US official told Reuters the Iranian vessel was armed at the time of the attack and that no prior warning was issued.
Analysts say the incident highlights the expanding maritime dimension of the conflict and raises concerns about the security of shipping lanes and naval activity across the Indian Ocean region.
