Exterior Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with Sri Lanka’s Minister of Overseas Affairs Vijitha Herath, Mauritius’ Minister of Overseas Affairs Dhananjay Ritish Ramful, and Australia’s former Minister for Overseas Affairs Marise Payne in the course of the session ‘Coronary heart of the Seas: The Way forward for the Indian Ocean’ at Raisina Dialogue 2026, in New Delhi on March 7, 2026. Photograph: @DrSJaishankar X/ANI Photograph
Sri Lanka will deal with Iranian sailors rescued from a torpedoed frigate in line with worldwide regulation, a Minister stated on Saturday (March 7, 2026), following stories Washington was pressuring Colombo to not repatriate them.
Overseas Minister Vijitha Herath informed a convention in New Delhi that Sri Lanka was caring for 32 sailors from the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena underneath Colombo’s worldwide treaty obligations.
The frigate was sunk by a U.S. submarine on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) simply off Sri Lanka’s southern coast.
Sri Lanka despatched its Navy to rescue survivors and get well 84 our bodies.
Requested if Colombo was underneath strain from the U.S. to not repatriate the Iranians, Mr. Herath didn’t reply straight.
“We’ve taken all of the steps in line with worldwide legal guidelines,” Mr. Herath stated.
Sri Lanka additionally supplied secure haven to a second Iranian warship, the IRIS Bushehr, and evacuated its 219 crew a day after the Dena was torpedoed.
The ship was taken to Trincomalee on Sri Lanka’s northeast coast after reporting engine issues.
India, in the meantime, stated Saturday (March 7, 2026) it had allowed a 3rd Iranian warship, the IRIS Lavan, to dock in certainly one of its ports on “humane” grounds after it too reported operational issues.
The three ships have been a part of a multi-national fleet assessment held by India earlier than the struggle in West Asia began final Saturday (February 28, 2026).
“I believe it was the humane factor to do and I believe we have been guided by that precept,” Exterior Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stated.
The Lavan docked within the southwest port of Kochi on Wednesday (March 4, 2026).
“Numerous the folks on board have been younger cadets. They’ve disembarked and are in a close-by facility,” stated Mr. Jaishankar.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated this week that Colombo would comply with the Hague Conference, which requires a impartial state to carry combatants of a warring state till hostilities finish.
A senior administration official stated Colombo was in talks with the Worldwide Committee of the Pink Cross to take care of the survivors of the torpedoed ship.
Worldwide humanitarian regulation utilized to the survivors from the Dena, an official stated, and the wounded might be repatriated at their request.
Iranian diplomats in Colombo stated they’ve requested for the stays of 84 sailors killed within the U.S. assault to be taken again to Iran.
Revealed – March 07, 2026 04:14 pm IST