Colombo, Mar 6: Sri Lanka on Thursday took control of an Iranian naval vessel after evacuating more than 200 crew members, a day after a US submarine torpedoed and sank another Iranian frigate off the island nation’s coast in an incident that has heightened regional tensions.
Sri Lankan authorities said the Iranian vessel IRIS Bushehr sought permission to dock after reporting a malfunction in one of its engines. Following discussions, Colombo allowed the ship to enter the northeastern port of Trincomalee and evacuated 208 crew members, including officers, cadets and sailors, citing humanitarian concerns.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the decision was taken while maintaining Sri Lanka’s long-standing policy of neutrality.
“We are not taking sides in this conflict, but while maintaining our neutrality, we are taking action to save lives,” he said in a televised statement.
“No person should die in a war like this. Every life is equally precious,” he added.
The development came a day after a US Navy submarine torpedoed the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena about 44 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s southern coast, killing at least 87 sailors, according to officials.
Sri Lanka’s navy launched search and rescue operations following the attack and has so far rescued 32 survivors, who are being treated at a hospital in Galle, while efforts continue to locate missing crew members.
US officials described the strike as the first time since World War II that an American submarine sank an enemy ship using a torpedo, marking a major escalation in the widening conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran.
Sri Lankan authorities said the decision to allow the IRIS Bushehr to dock at Trincomalee, one of the world’s largest natural deep-water harbours strategically located near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes, was based on humanitarian grounds and safety concerns.
“Our position has been to safeguard our neutrality while demonstrating our humanitarian values,” Dissanayake said, adding that Sri Lanka intervened to protect human lives and uphold international conventions.
Iran strongly condemned the US attack on the Dena, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi calling it an “atrocity at sea”.
“The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores,” he said, warning that Washington would “bitterly regret” the precedent set by the strike.
Sri Lanka has historically followed a non-aligned foreign policy and maintains economic and diplomatic ties with both Iran and the United States. The island nation imports Iranian crude oil worth about USD 250 million, partly paid through tea exports, while the US remains the primary market for Sri Lankan garment exports.
