COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Thursday said it is deliberating appropriate action after a second Iranian ship has sought entry to its territorial waters, a day after a frigate belonging to the Islamic country was attacked near the island nation.
Sri Lanka on Wednesday said it had recovered over 80 bodies of Iranian sailors killed after a US submarine attack sank the Iranian frigate - IRIS Dena - off Galle, the island's southern coastal town.
Government spokesman and minister Nalinda Jayathissa was on Thursday responding to a query by the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa in parliament about the second Iranian ship.
“We are aware of it and are contemplating action to safeguard all lives on board,” Jayathissa said. “We are intervening to resolve this issue to safeguard regional peace.”
The ship, according to Jayathissa, awaits in Sri Lanka’s Extended Economic Zone (EEZ) but is out of its territorial waters.
Sources said the ship had requested emergency assistance.
Meanwhile, in Galle, the crew of the ship torpedoed by the US were receiving treatment. Their injuries are not of serious nature, the hospital sources said.
The inquests on the 84 bodies of the perished Iranian sailors would be conducted Thursday at the Karapitiya hospital in Galle where the injured are receiving treatment.
The ill-fated ship was returning home from Visakhapatnam after a naval fleet review exercise.
While the Sri Lanka Navy refused to give reasons as to what caused the vessel to make a distress plea, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that it was a US submarine that sank the Iranian warship in international waters.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath had told Parliament that an emergency message was received by the Sri Lanka Navy and Coast Guard at 5.08 am regarding a sinking ship named IRIS Dena, located about 40 nautical miles off the southern port district of Galle.
Sri Lankan Navy spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath said, “We are only concerned about our obligation to rescue them as first responders under international maritime obligations.”
The US and Israel have launched a massive joint attack on Iran since February 28. The war has extended to almost the entire Gulf region with Iran's retaliation.