Iran thanks Sri Lanka for rescuing sailors after IRIS Dena warship sinking

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi held a telephone conversation on Friday evening with Vijitha Herath, the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, during which the two discussed the incident involving the Iranian warship IRIS Dena.

According to a statement published by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X, Araghchi briefed his Sri Lankan counterpart on what Tehran described as the latest developments related to the “military aggression” of the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran, as per Caliber.Az report.

گفتگوی تلفنی وزرای امور خارجه جمهوری اسلامی ایران و #سریلانکا

سید عباس عراقچی وزیر امور خارجه جمهوری اسلامی ايران، جمعه شب با ویجیتا هرات وزیر امور خارجه سریلانکا به صورت تلفنی گفتگو کرد.

وزیر امور خارجه کشورمان ضمن تشریح آخرین وضعیت ناشی از تجاوز نظامی آمریکا و رژیم صهیونیستی… pic.twitter.com/byb31i4CjN

— وزارت امور خارجه (@IRIMFA) March 14, 2026

“The Foreign Minister of Iran, explaining the latest developments related to the military aggression of the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran, expressed gratitude to the government of Sri Lanka for its efforts to rescue the sailors of the corvette ‘Dena,’ who were killed as a result of the cruel and illegal attack by the United States on the vessel… as well as for its assistance in transporting the bodies of 84 deceased sailors back to their homeland,” the statement said.

During the call, the two ministers also discussed bilateral relations between Iran and Sri Lanka.

The IRIS Dena was torpedoed and sunk on March 4 by the USS Charlotte (SSN-766), a submarine of the United States Navy, while sailing in the Indian Ocean.

The Iranian warship had recently participated in the International Fleet Review 2026, a multinational naval exercise hosted by India, and was returning home when it was sunk in international waters about 19 nautical miles (35 kilometres) off the coast near Galle in Sri Lanka.

According to Iranian estimates, 104 sailors were killed in the incident.

By Tamilla Hasanova