Sri Lanka is making efforts to protect the lives of sailors aboard another Iranian naval vessel operating near its coastline following a deadly attack by the United States on an Iranian frigate in international waters.
Officials said the ship is sailing through an economic zone beyond Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, and authorities are monitoring the situation while maintaining contact with the crew.
The development comes after a US submarine targeted and sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, an action claimed by the United States amid the expanding maritime conflict involving the United States and Iran.
The attack reportedly killed more than 80 Iranian sailors and left several others missing. The incident occurred far from Iranian territorial waters, roughly 3,200 kilometers from the Iranian coast.
Sri Lankan government spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa said the authorities are focused on ensuring safety as the second Iranian warship moves through waters close to the country.
He stated that the vessel, carrying more than 100 crew members, had signaled technical difficulties and requested permission to enter port, but no such arrangement was made.
The ship is believed to be part of a group of three Iranian navy vessels returning from an international maritime event in India.
Local authorities in the southern port city of Galle have already begun preparations related to the victims of the earlier attack.
Hospital officials said 32 Iranian sailors rescued after the submarine strike were receiving treatment under heavy security, with medical staff reporting that most injuries were minor, though some sailors suffered fractures and burn wounds.
Search operations are continuing in the surrounding sea area as Sri Lankan navy units look for missing crew members. Officials have also restricted access to the hospital’s emergency treatment unit where the injured Iranian sailors are being treated.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the United States would regret setting what he called a dangerous precedent by launching an attack at sea so far from Iran’s shores.
In a social media statement, he said the frigate was struck without warning while carrying nearly 130 sailors and visiting waters linked to an international naval event.
Iranian military commanders also signaled readiness to escalate the conflict. A commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the force was prepared to confront American assets wherever necessary and claimed that passage through the strategic Strait of Hormuz could come under Iranian control during wartime.
Meanwhile, Iran’s state media reported a separate claim that an Iranian military statement said a U.S. tanker in the northern Gulf had been struck and caught fire, although the United States has not responded to the allegation.
The escalating maritime confrontation comes amid growing regional tensions involving the Iran and the United States, with observers warning that the conflict could expand further beyond the Middle East. Al Jazeera Media Network contributed reporting.
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