Sri Lanka has repatriated 2 and 238 Iranian sailors who were stranded in the country following a US torpedo attack on an Iranian warship. The movement of the crew follows more than a month of displacement after the sinking of the Iris Dena on March 4.
According to BBC World, the group includes 32 sailors rescued from the Iris Dena and 206 from the Irins Bushehr. The Iris Dena sank approximately 40km from Sri Lanka's southern coastline after being struck by a torpedo from a US submarine, an incident that killed 104 sailors, the BBC reported.
Sri Lankan Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara confirmed on Wednesday that the crews of both vessels left the country on Tuesday night. The sailors had been living in navy and air force camps under 30-day entry visas provided by the Sri Lankan government, according to the BBC.
Escalating maritime tensions
The repatriation occurs as regional tensions reach a breaking point. Iran has threatened to halt all exports and imports in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea if the United States maintains its naval blockade of Iranian commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, BioBioChile reported.
Iranian Major General Alí Abdolahi, commander of the Jatam al Anbiya Central Headquarters, stated that any continuation of the US naval encirclement would violate the 15-day ceasefire that began last Wednesday, according to BioBioChile. "If the US aggressor and terrorist intends to continue its illegal naval blockade action... the powerful Armed Forces of Iran will not allow the continuity of any type of export or import in the Persian Gulf region, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea," Abdolahi warned, as reported by BioBioChile.
This threat follows an order from US President Donald Trump on Sunday to begin a perimeter closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, according to La Tercera. The US-Israeli offensive against Iran, which began in late February, is currently under a fragile ceasefire expected to expire next week, La Tercera reported.
Russia offers energy support to China
Amid the maritime standoff, Russia has moved to offer energy assistance to China to mitigate the resource shortages caused by the conflict. During a visit to Beijing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with President Xi Jinping to discuss covering the lack of resources in China and other nations, according to La Tercera.
Lavrov accused the United States of using the war in the Persian Gulf to seize control of Iranian oil, according to La Tercera. The Russian minister noted that the global shortage of crude and rising prices are creating new opportunities for Russia as a major exporter, as reported by the news agency TASS.
While the US has temporarily suspended sanctions on Russian oil to manage global price spikes, La Tercera reported that these restrictions returned to force over the weekend. Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts in Islamabad, Pakistan, have yet to produce a definitive agreement between Washington and Tehran, according to La Tercera.
In Sri Lanka, the government's handling of the Iranian vessels was framed as a humanitarian necessity. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated during the arrival of the Irins Bushehr on March 5 that the nation would "never hesitate to protect humanity," according to the BBC.
"Our position has been to safeguard our neutrality while demonstrating our humanitarian values," Dissanayake said in a statement, according to the BBC. The Sri Lankan president added that the country's intervention demonstrated a commitment to international conventions and the protection of human lives, the BBC reported.
