More than 200 Iranian sailors stranded in Sri Lanka return home

Over 200 Iranian sailors, who were marooned in Sri Lanka following a US torpedo strike, have begun their journey back to their homeland after a month of detention. Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara announced on Wednesday that 32 crew members from the Iris Dena and 206 from the Irins Bushehr had departed the country. The incident occurred on March 4 when the Iranian warship Iris Dena was hit by a torpedo from a US submarine, sinking approximately 40km from Sri Lanka’s southern coast and killing 104 sailors.

On March 5, Sri Lanka took control of the Irins Bushehr after the vessel requested to dock at one of the nation’s ports due to an engine failure. The ship, which was anchored off Trincomalee in the northeast, is now under local custody. Jayasekara confirmed that all crew members of both ships were evacuated by air on Tuesday night. The sailors were granted 30-day entry visas and accommodated in military and air force facilities during their stay.

“Our position has been to safeguard our neutrality while demonstrating our humanitarian values,” said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in a statement. “We intervened in a way that protected the reputation and dignity of our country, as well as human lives.”

The attack on the Iris Dena occurred just days into the ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran, escalating the war’s reach into international waters. Iran responded with retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, targeting Gulf nations aligned with the US. About 15 Iranian sailors will remain in Sri Lanka to operate the Irins Bushehr, which is currently stationed near Trincomalee.

Video footage from the US Department of Defense captured the moment the ship was struck, with its stern rising before the explosion. The remains of 84 crew members from the Iris Dena were later transported back to Iran via a chartered aircraft. Sri Lanka, which has upheld a non-aligned stance since independence in 1948, maintains strong economic and diplomatic relationships with both Iran and the United States.