New Delhi, Mar 7: India allowed an Iranian naval vessel to dock at the southern port city of Kochi after Tehran sought urgent assistance due to technical issues, days before another Iranian warship was reportedly torpedoed in the Indian Ocean amid rising regional tensions, government sources said.
Iran approached India on February 28 requesting permission for its warship IRIS Lavan to dock at Kochi as the vessel had developed technical problems while operating in the region after participating in the International Fleet Review.
“Days before the IRIS Dena incident south of Sri Lanka, India was approached by Iran to take in the Iranian ship IRIS Lavan,” a government source said.
“This request was received on February 28, 2026, indicating that a docking at Kochi was urgent as the vessel had developed technical issues,” the source added.
India approved the request on March 1 and the ship docked at Kochi on March 4.
“IRIS Lavan docked at Kochi on March 4. In this context, its crew of 183 is currently accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi,” the source said.
IRIS Lavan is a Hengam-class landing ship commissioned in January 1985 and is primarily used for amphibious sealift and logistics operations in the Persian Gulf region.
The vessel was part of a three-ship Iranian naval contingent that travelled to India to participate in the International Fleet Review (IFR-2026) held off Visakhapatnam in mid-February. The event was reviewed by President Droupadi Murmu on February 18 and featured warships from several countries including the United States, Russia and Iran.
The Iranian group comprised IRIS Lavan, the Bandar Abbas-class fleet support ship IRIS Bushehr and the Moudge-class frigate IRIS Dena.
However, the return voyage turned tragic after IRIS Dena was reportedly torpedoed by a US submarine in the Indian Ocean south of Sri Lanka on March 4.
According to reports, between 84 and 100 Iranian sailors were killed in the attack, with 64 still missing, while 32 injured survivors were rescued by Sri Lankan authorities.
The incident has drawn strong condemnation from Tehran, which described it as a “criminal attack” and said the matter would be pursued through legal and international channels.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi also held separate telephone conversations with India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath to discuss regional developments following the incident.
Araghchi condemned what he called the “U.S. criminal attack on the Iranian naval vessel Dena,” saying the ship was targeted “in international waters about 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores without prior warning.”
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh also criticised Washington, saying the US had attacked a “ceremonial, unloaded ship”.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka allowed IRIS Bushehr to enter its port at Trincomalee and provided shelter to more than 250 Iranian sailors.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake defended the decision, saying humanitarian considerations guided the move.
“Our approach is that every life is as precious as our own,” he said.
“All our actions are aimed at saving lives and ensuring that humanity prevails.”
He described sheltering the sailors as “the most courageous and humanitarian course of action that a state can take,” adding that Sri Lanka would continue to guard its non-aligned policy while prioritising humanitarian values.
