Sri Lanka repatriated forty Iranian sailors following a rescue operation off the southern coast. The Foreign Ministry said all forty individuals received medical attention before boarding a flight back to Iran on Saturday morning.
The sailors were on board merchant vessels roughly twenty-four nautical miles from Galle when local authorities received distress signals regarding their health. The Iranian Embassy in Colombo organised the evacuation, and Sri Lankan officials managed the transfer through the port of Galle.
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath confirmed the repatriation details to the media. Ministry spokesman Thushara Rodrigo stated that officials fulfilled their humanitarian obligations.
Nearly a dozen empty Iranian oil tankers remain anchored off the coast of Galle alongside the rescued personnel. These ships cannot sail back to Iran because of a United States blockade.
Sri Lankan authorities said the stranded vessels sit in international waters, outside the nation’s twelve-nautical-mile territorial limit. The military has deployed reconnaissance aircraft and naval patrol boats to monitor the stationary tankers.
The incident follows an attack in March. Iran reported that one hundred and four crew members aboard the Iranian warship IRIS Dena were killed, while thirty-two other sailors sustained injuries off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that the warship came under attack on March 4 while heading home from the Milan Peace 2026 naval drills in India. Washington later confirmed that an American submarine hit the vessel with a torpedo.
Sri Lankan authorities launched a joint rescue operation after receiving distress calls from the warship near Galle, taking thirty-two wounded crew members to a local hospital.
