India allows Iranian warship to dock in Kochi as U.S. sinks another vessel near Sri Lanka
NEW DELHI, March 6 – India allowed an Iranian naval vessel to dock at the southern port of Kochi as a humanitarian measure, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Saturday, after a U.S. submarine sank another Iranian warship near Sri Lanka earlier the same week during the escalating conflict involving Iran and the United States.
The Iranian amphibious landing vessel IRIS Lavan docked in Kochi on Wednesday following an urgent request from Tehran, according to an Indian government source familiar with the matter. The docking occurred the same day a U.S. submarine struck the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka’s coast, killing at least 87 people, officials said.Speaking at the annual Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, Jaishankar said the vessel and two accompanying ships had originally been scheduled to attend a fleet review in India but were caught amid the rapidly deteriorating security environment in the region.“We really approached it from the point of view of humanity,” Jaishankar said, referring to India’s decision to allow the vessel entry despite the complex legal and geopolitical circumstances. “I think we did the right thing.”humanitarian docking amid naval escalationAccording to the Indian government source, New Delhi received Tehran’s request on Feb. 28, the day hostilities between Iran and the United States and its allies intensified.
The request said the Lavan had developed technical issues and required urgent assistance.The ship’s 183 crew members have since been accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi while repairs are assessed, the source said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.The docking highlights India’s attempt to balance humanitarian obligations with its broader diplomatic relationships as tensions in the Indian Ocean region rise.U.S. strike sinks Iranian frigateThe Lavan’s arrival coincided with the sinking of the Dena, an Iranian frigate that had earlier participated in naval activities linked to India. The vessel was struck approximately 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s coast, outside the island nation’s territorial waters but within its exclusive economic zone, officials said.The attack was carried out by a U.S. submarine as part of the widening conflict launched by U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel against Iran, Washington has said. Trump previously stated that degrading Iran’s naval capabilities was among the objectives of the military campaign.The Dena, a domestically built frigate commissioned in 2021 and capable of carrying anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles, had been returning from naval activities associated with India shortly before the strike. Regional response and rescue efforts.
Sri Lankan authorities said they were escorting another Iranian naval vessel, the IRIS Booshehr, to a harbour on the country’s eastern coast. Most of its crew members were being transferred to a navy camp near Colombo as a precaution, officials said.The incident has underscored growing security risks in the Indian Ocean as the conflict between Washington and Tehran spreads beyond the Middle East into critical maritime routes linking South Asia and the Persian Gulf.India has not commented on the broader military developments but officials said its decision to assist the Iranian vessel was based solely on humanitarian considerations.
