A Sri Lankan court has ordered that the remains of 84 Iranian sailors, killed during a torpedo attack on the warship IRIS Dena last week, be handed over to the Iranian embassy in Colombo. The IRIS Dena was reportedly struck by a U.S. submarine while returning from a naval exercise hosted by India, a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. The bodies are currently being held at a morgue in Galle, while the Sri Lankan foreign ministry coordinates the logistics of the transfer with Tehran.
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In addition to managing the casualties, Sri Lanka has granted 30-day entry visas to 208 crew members from a second Iranian vessel, the IRIS Booshehr, which experienced engine failure in the same region. While 32 survivors from the IRIS Dena are also being processed, the situation has placed Sri Lanka in a delicate diplomatic position. Washington is reportedly pressuring Colombo not to repatriate the survivors, creating a complex challenge for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake as he navigates relations with two vital trade partners: the U.S., which buys 40% of Sri Lankan apparel, and Iran, a primary buyer of its tea.
An apartment building in central Beirut was left damage after it was hit by an Israeli strike, Lebanese state media said. Footage shows extensive damage to two floors of the apartment block in the Aicha Bakkar neighborhood, and smoke rising from the building. There was no… pic.twitter.com/Bz8OF95BbP
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 11, 2026
The regional maritime crisis continues to widen, with a third Iranian warship, the IRIS Lavan, currently docked in the Indian port of Kochi. As Sri Lanka prepares to move the disabled IRIS Booshehr to Trincomalee harbor, the government is awaiting a formal response from Tehran regarding the next steps for its personnel. This incident underscores the precarious nature of neutral nations caught in the crossfire of the conflict, which has already sent global oil prices soaring and severely disrupted international trade routes.
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