New Delhi: In late February, three Iranian Navy ships approached Sri Lanka, seeking a four-day visit to the country to “enhance cooperation,” reports said, citing Sri Lankan officials. Just days earlier, these ships—IRIS Dena, IRIS Lavan, and IRIS Bushehr—left the Indian port of Vishakhapatnam after completing the MILAN 2026 military exercise hosted by the Indian Navy.
The visit “caught Sri Lankan authorities by surprise”, The New York Times reported. As Sri Lankan officials rushed to sort out the paperwork, the US, along with Israel, mounted an attack on Iran that would destabilise the whole Gulf region in the following days. The American strikes on Iran on 28 February reportedly gave the island nation “pause”.
According to the Sri Lankan officials cited by the NYT, they were worried that letting the Iranian vessels in “might bring the conflict to its shores, even though they recognised that the Iranian ships were easier targets if they remained in international waters”.
IRIS Dena was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka around 4 March 2026. IRIS Lavan docked in Kochi the same day after experiencing technical issues. IRIS Bushehr was subsequently allowed to dock in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka launched a rescue operation for those on board the IRIS Dena after distress signals started reaching authorities. It provided assistance requested by Beshehr too.
According to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Tehran also contacted New Delhi, and government officials granted all ships permission to dock, but only the IRIS Lavan reached Indian shores, as it was the closest.
IRIS Dena, he added, was caught “on the wrong side of events”.
The NYT reported that Sri Lanka is now in an unexpected diplomatic row with Iran because the West Asian country is upset that Colombo did not allow the Dena to enter its territorial waters. This allegedly occurred despite Sri Lanka having extended an invitation to the Iranian Navy to visit.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)