No US pressure against repatriating IRIS Dena warship survivors: Deputy Defence Minister

Monday, 9 March 2026 06:25 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Shanika Sriyananda

Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Aruna Jayasekara

Deputy Defence Minister Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Aruna Jayasekara has refuted any pressure coming from the US to the Sri Lankan Government not to repatriate Iranian survivors of the IRIS Dena warship, who are now being accommodated in locations belonging to the Sri Lanka Navy.

Referring to media reports that claimed the US Government had informed the Sri Lankan Government not to repatriate the Iranian crew members of both ships, he told the Daily FT yesterday that no such dialogue to send the rescued sailors back to Iran has taken place between the US Government or with officials of the US Embassy in Colombo.

However, on Friday, Reuters, which had seen an internal State Department cable, had exclusively reported that “the US is pressing Sri Lanka not to repatriate the survivors from an Iranian warship it sank [last] week or the crew of a second Iranian ship that is in Sri Lankan custody.”

According to reports, a US submarine sank the IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean about 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s southern port city of Galle, killing dozens of sailors.

“They were rumours and no discussion or a communication was made in this regard between the two Governments,” he confirmed.

Maj. Gen. Jayasekara said that all rescued sailors from both Iranian ships were being accommodated in secure locations where their essential requirements, including health, were looked into.

“The Government is following international law and humanitarian commitments while getting in touch with required diplomatic channels in this process,” he said.

The Deputy Defence Minister highlighted that the Government is maintaining longstanding historic diplomatic relationships with the US, Israel, and Iran.