US asks Sri Lanka not to send back Iranian sailors rescued after strike on IRIS Dena

US urges Sri Lanka not to return Iranian sailors after warship sinking: Report

The United States has urged Sri Lanka not to repatriate survivors from an Iranian warship sunk earlier this week, as well as the crew of another Iranian vessel currently in Sri Lankan custody, according to an internal US State Department cable seen by Reuters on Friday.

A US submarine torpedoed and sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, about 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s southern port city of Galle, killing dozens of sailors. The strike marked a significant escalation in Washington’s pursuit of Iran’s navy and highlighted the widening geographic scope of the conflict.

Following the sinking, Sri Lankan authorities launched a rescue operation, recovering at least 87 bodies while rescuing 32 survivors from the vessel.

On Thursday, Sri Lanka also began offloading 208 crew members from another Iranian naval auxiliary ship, IRIS Booshehr, which had been stranded in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone but outside its maritime boundary. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the country had a “humanitarian responsibility” to assist the crew.

However, a State Department cable dated March 6 said Jayne Howell, the charge d'affaires at the US embassy in Colombo, had urged Sri Lankan authorities not to return either the Booshehr crew or the survivors of the Dena to Iran.

“Sri Lankan authorities should minimize Iranian attempts to use the detainees for propaganda.”

According to the cable, Howell also told the Israeli ambassador to India and Sri Lanka that there were no plans to repatriate the crew to Iran. The envoy asked whether there had been any engagement with the sailors to encourage “defection,” the cable added.

The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and representatives for Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry and the president’s office were also unavailable.

Sri Lanka’s deputy minister for health and mass media, Hansaka Wijemuni, earlier told Reuters that Iran had requested assistance in repatriating the bodies of those killed aboard the Dena, though a timeline has not yet been determined.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike on the Iranian frigate, saying an American submarine had sunk the vessel.

“That thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo, a quiet death.”

Sri Lanka’s navy said it received a distress signal from the warship at 5:08 am on March 4. The vessel reportedly had around 180 personnel on board.

The IRIS Dena, one of Iran’s newest warships, was a Moudge-class frigate equipped with heavy guns, missiles and torpedoes and had recently taken part in naval exercises organised by India in the Bay of Bengal before heading back toward Iran.

The State Department cable also indicated that the IRIS Booshehr would remain in Sri Lankan custody for the duration of the conflict. Sri Lankan authorities said they were escorting the ship to a harbour on the eastern coast while moving most of its crew to a navy camp near Colombo.