Sri Lankan Court Orders Transfer of 84 Iranian Sailors’ Bodies to Tehran Embassy
Edited By: Tendai Zola
A Sri Lankan court on Wednesday ordered the transfer of the bodies of 84 Iranian sailors to the Iranian embassy in Colombo following their deaths in an attack on their warship off the coast of Sri Lanka last week.
Local media reported that the decision comes after the sinking of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena, an incident that occurred amid rising regional tensions.
According to reports, the vessel was struck by a torpedo launched from a US submarine in the Indian Ocean while it was returning from joint naval exercises recently organized by India.
Sri Lankan naval spokesperson Commander Budhika Sampath previously stated that rescue teams from the navy and air force were dispatched to the location of the vessel after receiving a distress signal about 40 nautical miles south of Sri Lanka.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that an American submarine fired a guided torpedo that directly hit and sank the Iranian warship in international waters near Sri Lanka. The US Department of Defense also released video footage that it said shows the moment the vessel was struck and subsequently sank in the Indian Ocean.
The incident occurred in the context of the broader military escalation involving the United States, Israel and Iran that began on February 28. According to available reports, the conflict has resulted in more than 1,300 deaths in Iran, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian retaliatory strikes against Israel have reportedly killed 13 people and injured more than 2,000 others.
