To safeguard the lives of those on board a second Iranian military vessel operating outside Sri Lankan waters amid potential threats, the vessel has been guided to port, and its 208 crew members have been relocated to a military camp. This follows an incident on March 4th, where the Iranian naval ship IRIS Dena, navigating outside Sri Lankan territory, was struck by a U.S. Navy torpedo and subsequently sunk. That attack, part of a series of strikes launched by the United States against Iran since February 28th, resulted in 87 martyrs.
Two days after that incident, Sri Lanka decided to assist a second Iranian vessel traversing the same region. This vessel, identified as the IRIS Bushehr, had encountered mechanical engine failures. Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that taking charge of the crew and providing assistance was a humanitarian responsibility. Most of the crew members have since been brought to Colombo for medical check-ups and subsequently transferred to a naval camp in Welisara. The vessel itself has been towed to Trincomalee Harbour, with 15 crew members remaining on board.
Both Iran and the United States are significant trading partners for Sri Lanka. Forty percent of Sri Lanka’s garment production is exported to the United States, while Iran remains a major purchaser of Sri Lankan tea. Since February 28th, intensive joint military operations by the United States and Zionist forces against Iran have resulted in over 1,000 martyrs. Among the deceased are Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several members of his family. In response to this aggression, Iran has been launched continuous retaliatory strikes targeting the Zionist entity as well as U.S. military bases located across various Middle Eastern countries.
