TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sri Lanka is reportedly trying to safeguard lives on another Iranian ship off its coast, according to the country's cabinet spokesperson on Thursday, March 5, 2026 as cited by Al Monitor. Sri Lankan Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa added that the ship was in the country's economic zone outside its territorial waters.
"We are doing our utmost to safeguard lives," Jayatissa said.
Another Iranian warship is heading to Sri Lanka's territorial waters on Thursday, said a Sri Lankan minister to parliament. This comes a day after a US submarine destroyed an Iranian frigate that had just returned from joint exercises in India. The attack in the international waters of the Indian Ocean on the unarmed frigate killed at least 87 sailors.
Sri Lanka stated that the ship is carrying over 100 crew members and is also concerned about it being targeted in the same manner.
130 Crew Members
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Thursday that 130 sailors are on board the Iranian warship hit by the US a day earlier off the coast of Sri Lanka.
"The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning," wrote Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the US social media platform X as reported by Anadolu.
"Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set," he warned.
Repatriation of Bodies
Meanwhile, authorities in the port city of Galle in southern Sri Lanka on Thursday were preparing for the handover of the bodies of 87 Iranian sailors who perished in a torpedo attack claimed by the US military.
Officials at the main hospital in Galle said 32 rescued Iranians are still under tight security provided by the police and elite commandos.
The Emergency Care Unit has been closed to visitors and other patients, with medical authorities preparing separate wards for the Iranians.
"Most of them have minor injuries, but there were a few with fractures and burns," said a nurse at the hospital, without giving her name as reported by France24.
Navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath said Sri Lanka's navy ships continue to search for the missing Iranian sailors.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that American forces attacked the Iranian warship, which had participated in a naval exercise off the coast of India last month.
IRIS Dena is a Moudge-class frigate serving in the Iranian Navy's Southern Fleet.
Before the attack, the Iranian warship had taken part in the multinational Milan 2026 naval exercise and fleet review held in the Bay of Bengal. The ship was on its way back.
India's Response
Former Indian Foreign Minister Kanwal Sibal condemned the attack. "The Iranian ship will not be where it was if we had not invited it to talk part in our Milan exercise. We were the hosts," Sibal wrote on X.
"I am told that as per protocol for this exercise ships cannot carry any ammunition. It was defenseless," he asserted.
He alleged that the US submarine attack on the Iranian frigate was premeditated. He claimed that the US was aware of the presence of the Iranian ship in the exercise where they were invited, "but withdrew from participation at the last minute, presumably with this operation in mind."
As of now, there has been no official statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the attack incident. However, the Indian government claims the attack on the Iranian ship did not originate from its territory.
The attack occurred as Israel and the US continue large-scale attacks on Iran since Saturday, killing more than 1,100 people, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior military officials.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and the Gulf countries hosting US military assets.
Read: Sri Lanka Evacuates Crew from Iranian Warship After US Strike
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