Days before Iranian warship IRIS Dena was hit by a US torpedo off Sri Lanka’s coast, the Indian government gave nod to another Iranian ship, IRIS Lavan, to dock in the southwest Indian port of Kochi, sources said on Friday.
IRIS Lavan was docked at the Kochi port on March 4, after a request was received from Tehran on February 28, when the conflict began between the US and Iran.
The sources said that the government received an urgent docking request from the vessel on February 28, after it developed technical issues. An approval was granted to the Iranian ship the next day.
Also Read | IRIS Dena was ‘unarmed, unloaded’ during return from India when US attacked it: Iran
India also gave refuge to 183 crew members on board the vessel who are are now safe in India. The crew members have been accommodated at the naval facilities in Kochi.
“IRIS LAVAN has since docked at Kochi on 4 March. In this context, its crew of 183 are currently accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi,” the source told Hindustan Times.
The docking approval to IRIS Lavan comes days before a US submarine hit IRIS Dena off the Sri Lankan coast on March 4, intensifying the US-Iran conflict and escalating tensions in the Middle East. The incident led to the death of 87 crew members on IRIS Dena, while over 30 sailors were rescued by Sri Lanka.
The Indian Navy had deployed INS Tarangini and INS Ikshak, along with maritime patrol aircraft, like its P8Is, to assist in the Sri Lanka-led search and rescue operations for IRIS Dena.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said Iranian vessel IRIS Dena was “unarmed and unloaded” during its journey back after participating in a naval exercise in India.
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