US submarine attack : Iranian warship moves toward Sri Lanka after US submarine sinks sister vessel

US submarine attack : A second Iranian vessel reached Sri Lankan waters on Thursday, one day after a US submarine sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off the island’s southern coast, killing at least 87 sailors, according to a government minister. Nalinda Jayatissa, Sri Lanka’s media minister, told parliament that the vessel was now just beyond the country’s territorial waters but did not provide any further information.

According to AFP official sources, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was consulting with top officials about Tehran’s request to allow the ship to enter Sri Lankan waters for safety, as the vessel was carrying over 100 crew members and feared they would be targeted in the same way that a sister vessel was sunk by a US submarine just off Sri Lanka’s southern coast on Wednesday.

The incident occurred during the increasing conflict sparked by US-Israeli assaults on Iran. Since February 28, the United States and Israel have together begun a military onslaught on Iran. With Iran’s reprisal, the war has spread throughout practically the whole Gulf region.

US submarine attack : 87 Iranian sailors died

Authorities in the southern port city of Galle were preparing to give over the remains of 87 Iranian sailors who were killed in the torpedo strike. The 32 rescued crew members are being treated under severe security in a separate ward after the Emergency Treatment Unit was limited to visitors.The majority of them have minor injuries, but there were a couple with fractures and burns,” said a hospital nurse who declined to be identified.

Buddhika Sampath, a military spokesperson, told AFP that Sri Lankan military warships were still searching for missing Iranian servicemen. The vessel had issued a distress call at dawn on Wednesday but had already sunk by the time a Sri Lankan rescue ship arrived.

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The incident occurred roughly 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Galle, according to the local navy. The vessel was returning from a military exercise in India’s eastern port of Visakhapatnam.

Sri Lanka, which has remained neutral in the war, has called for diplomacy to help settle Middle Eastern concerns. Iran remains a significant customer of Sri Lankan tea, the country’s principal export product.