Sri Lanka has repatriated 238 Iranian sailors who had been stranded in the country following damage to an Iranian naval vessel caused by a U.S. submarine torpedo attack. Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara said 32 sailors rescued from the warship IRIS Dena and 206 from IRIS Bushehr left Sri Lanka on Tuesday aboard a chartered flight. Fifteen Iranian sailors remain in Sri Lanka to operate the Bushehr, which is anchored near Trincomalee.

According to Iranian authorities, the IRIS Dena was destroyed in the attack, killing 104 sailors, of whom 84 bodies have been recovered and sent home. Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that the Bushehr crew were sheltered under the 1907 Hague Convention for humanitarian reasons. Iran’s ambassador Alireza Dilkhoush confirmed that Tehran and Colombo had been in talks over the sailors’ return.

Analysts view Sri Lanka’s decision as a humanitarian gesture that underscores its diplomatic neutrality amid regional tensions.