TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States has urged the authorities of Sri Lanka not to repatriate the survivors of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena, which sank earlier this week, as well as the crew of a second Iranian vessel that is currently under the protection of Sri Lanka. This was reported by Reuters as quoted by Antara on Friday, citing a memo from an internal cable of the U.S. Department of State.
"Sri Lankan authorities should minimize Iranian attempts to use the detainees for propaganda," the cable read, adding that the Bushehr ship will remain under detention in Sri Lanka until the conflict ends.
The Sri Lankan Navy evacuated 204 people from the Iranian IRIS Bushehr, which had previously requested permission to enter a port in the island nation, said a navy spokesperson. On the same day, the media reported that the number of evacuees had increased to 208 people.
Bushehr is the second Iranian ship to seek assistance from the Sri Lankan Navy.
On March 4, the Iranian navy ship IRIS Dena, reported to be en route from a port in the eastern part of India with around 130 crew on board, sank about 40 kilometers south of Sri Lanka after sending a distress signal at dawn.
They were returning from two other ships that had participated in the Milan 2026 and International Fleet Review naval exercises, both organized by India in Visakhapatnam and ending around February 25, 2026.
U.S. Defense Minister Pete Hegseth then stated that a U.S. submarine had sunk the Iranian warship in international waters in the Indian Ocean. He noted that the incident marked the first torpedo sinking since World War II.
A U.S. official claimed that Dena was armed at the time of the attack, and the U.S. did not issue a warning before the attack.
However, former Indian Foreign Minister Kanwal Sibal stated in his account X that, based on the standard "peace protocol" for such exercises, participating ships were prohibited from carrying ammunition or active missiles, indicating that the ship was unarmed.
Following the incident, Sri Lankan Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra stated that around 87 bodies had been found at the location of the Dena's sinking so far. While 32 crew members of the Iranian frigate ship were rescued and are currently being treated at a hospital. Several Iranian sailors are reported to remain missing.
Several days before the Dena sank by a U.S. submarine in the south of Sri Lanka, Iran approached India to accept another Iranian ship, IRIS Lavan, which was also in the area for the International Fleet Review.
According to government sources, as reported by The Times of India, on March 1, India granted permission for the ship to safely dock at the Port of Kochi and accommodated its 183 crew members in Navy facilities.
Read: Second Iranian Ship Heads to Sri Lanka After US Submarine Attack
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