Colombo, Sri Lanka, 07 March (H.S.): The United States has urged Sri Lankan authorities to withhold repatriation of survivors from two Iranian naval vessels, intensifying diplomatic tensions in the Indian Ocean as the broader Iran conflict expands.

A confidential U.S. State Department cable, dated March 6, reveals that Jayne Howell, the chargé d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Colombo, pressed Sri Lanka's government against returning the 32 survivors from the sunken Iranian warship IRIS Dena or the 208 crew members of the auxiliary vessel IRIS Booshehr to Iran.

The directive emphasizes minimizing opportunities for Tehran to exploit the personnel for propaganda purposes.The IRIS Dena, a guided-missile frigate, was torpedoed by a U.S. submarine on Wednesday approximately 19 nautical miles off Galle, Sri Lanka's southern port city.

The strike, which U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth termed a quiet death, claimed dozens of lives and marked America's first such naval action against Iran since World War II. The vessel had recently participated in joint naval exercises hosted by India in the Bay of Bengal and was en route back to Iran when targeted.

A U.S. official confirmed the Dena was armed at the time, with no prior warning issued.Meanwhile, the IRIS Booshehr became stranded in Sri Lanka's exclusive economic zone. Sri Lankan forces began offloading its crew on Thursday, escorting the ship to an eastern harbor while relocating most personnel to a naval camp near Colombo.

The vessel will remain under Sri Lankan custody for the conflict's duration.Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake affirmed his nation's humanitarian responsibility to shelter the crews, even as Tehran requested assistance repatriating the Dena victims' bodies—though no timeline has been set.

Howell also briefed the Israeli ambassador to India and Sri Lanka, assuring no repatriation plans and fielding inquiries on potential crew defections.This episode unfolds against a backdrop of heightened U.S.-Iran hostilities, with reports of Iranian missile stockpiles, Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, and Russian intelligence support for Tehran. Sri Lanka's deputy minister for health and mass media, Hansaka Wijemuni, noted ongoing coordination with Iran over the deceased.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar