The United States is urging Sri Lanka not to return survivors of two Iranian naval vessels, including the recently sunk IRIS Dena, according to an internal State Department cable obtained by Reuters.
The move comes as the Iran conflict widens in the Indian Ocean.
On March 4, a U.S. submarine sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena roughly 19 nautical miles off Galle, Sri Lanka, killing dozens of sailors. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the attack as a “quiet death.”
The Dena had participated in naval exercises in the Bay of Bengal last month and was returning to Iran when the torpedo strike occurred. U.S. officials said the vessel was armed, and no warning was issued before the strike.
Booshehr crew in Sri Lankan custody
Alongside the Dena survivors, 208 crew members from the Iranian auxiliary ship IRIS Booshehr are now in Sri Lankan custody. The vessel had entered Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone but remained outside its maritime boundary.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasized Sri Lanka’s “humanitarian responsibility” to care for the stranded crew. Most of the Booshehr personnel are being escorted to a navy camp near Colombo, with the ship itself moved to an eastern harbor.
The cable, dated March 6, shows Jayne Howell, charge d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Colombo, instructed Sri Lanka that neither the Dena survivors nor the Booshehr crew should be repatriated to Iran.
Howell stressed that Sri Lanka should minimize Iranian attempts to exploit the detainees for propaganda purposes. The memo also indicates U.S. interest in potentially engaging with the crew to encourage defection, a point discussed with the Israeli ambassador to India and Sri Lanka.
Iran has requested Sri Lanka’s help in repatriating the deceased from the Dena, but no timeline has been set. The State Department cable stated the Booshehr will remain under Sri Lankan control for the duration of the conflict.
Sri Lankan officials have not publicly commented on the memo, and the U.S. State Department has not issued a statement regarding the report.
