COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka began transferring more than 200 sailors from an Iranian vessel to shore Friday after the ship sought assistance while anchored outside the country’s waters, as tensions mounted in the Indian Ocean following the sinking of an Iranian warship by a U.S. submarine.
Sri Lanka navy spokesman Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath said the sailors of the IRIS Bushehr were being brought first to the port of Colombo and the ship will later be moved to an eastern port on the island.
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Iranian warship IRIS Dena is seen in the Bay of Bengal during International Fleet Review held at Visakhapatnam, India, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)
Iranian sailors, wearing t-shirts, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy, are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Two Iranian sailors, center, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Two Iranian sailors, carrying green bags, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
“The disembarkation is in progress,” he said, adding the sailors would be taken to the naval base at Welisara, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Colombo, after medical exams and immigration procedures.
The move by the Sri Lankan government to take over the vessel came after the U.S. sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka’s coast Wednesday. The strike marked one of the rare instances since World War II in which a submarine sank a surface warship, and highlighted the expanding scope of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
The Dena had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading into international waters on its way home. At least 74 countries had joined the events, according to India's Defense Ministry, including the U.S. Navy, which conducted reconnaissance aircraft and maritime patrol drills.
The Indian navy said Thursday that it had initiated search and rescue operations after receiving a distress signal from the Dena, deploying two aircraft along with a sailing training vessel. By the time the response was launched, the Sri Lankan navy had already started its own rescue efforts, it said.
The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies after the attack.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Dena had been carrying “almost 130” crew. The normal crew size for a warship of that class is 140.
Araghchi called the sinking an “atrocity at sea” and said the US would “bitterly regret” the attack.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said late Thursday that authorities decided to take control of the Iranian vessel IRIS Bushehr after discussions with Iranian officials and the ship’s captain, after one of its engines failed.
“We have to understand that this is not an ordinary situation. It’s a request by a ship belonging to one party to enter into our port. We have to consider that according to the international treaties and conventions,” he told journalists Thursday night.
Separately on Friday, he wrote on X: “No civilian should die in wars. Our approach is that every single life is as precious as our own.”
The IRIS Bushehr had been described in previous Iranian media reports as a navy logistics ship that also had a helicopter pad on it.
Dissanayake said some crew members would remain on board to help the Sri Lankan navy navigate the vessel to Trincomalee on the island’s northeast coast, about 265 kilometers (165 miles) from Colombo. The remaining sailors will be housed at a naval base, he said, adding that Sri Lanka was guided by neutrality while seeking to uphold humanitarian principles.
“We have followed a very clear stance. We will not be biased to any state not we will be submissive to any state,” he said.
The episode underscores how the conflict involving Iran is widening beyond the Middle East and spilling into the Indian Ocean, putting strategically located Sri Lanka in a delicate position as it tries to balance humanitarian obligations, international maritime law and its longstanding policy of non-alignment.
H. M. G. S. Palihakkara, Sri Lanka’s retired former foreign secretary who also served as its permanent representative to the U.N., said the country had acted responsibly and impartially in responding to the crisis.
“There has been a distress call from the ship. So naturally Sri Lanka, as a party to the Law of Sea and the Hague Convention, had no option but to do what it did by mounting a humanitarian operation to provide assistance to save lives and provide medical care to the affected,” he said.
Palihakkara said that Sri Lanka had an obligation to uphold international law. He added that parties to the conflict would understand that Sri Lanka was not taking sides and was acting in line with its foreign policy of staying outside geopolitical alignments.
“You could not have ignored the distress call. Even the attacking powers cannot leave shipwreck sailors dying. That is the law,” Palihakkara said.
Saaliq reported from New Delhi.
Iranian warship IRIS Dena is seen in the Bay of Bengal during International Fleet Review held at Visakhapatnam, India, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)
Iranian sailors, wearing t-shirts, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy, are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Two Iranian sailors, center, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Two Iranian sailors, carrying green bags, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Israeli airstrikes pounded the capitals of Iran and Lebanon as the U.S. apparently struck an Iranian drone carrier at sea, intensifying its campaign targeting the Islamic Republic’s fleet of warships.
Iran launched new retaliatory attacks early Friday against neighboring countries that host U.S. forces. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The latest strikes mark a full week of attacks affecting countries across the Middle East.
The Israeli military said the fighting has destroyed most of Iran’s air defenses and missile launchers, while U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that strikes against Tehran were “about to surge dramatically.”
Tehran has warned of the destruction of the Middle East’s military and economic infrastructure, and the war has rattled financial markets.
Here is the latest:
Australia’s government revealed on Friday that three Australian personnel were aboard a U.S. submarine that sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean this week, killing at least 87 people.
The Australians were part of the trilateral US, Australian and British AUKUS training program.
Neil James, executive director of the Australian Defense Association policy think tank, says it is “reasonably rare” for Australians embedded with another nation’s military to go to war against a country such as Iran that Australia wasn’t at war with.
James said an Australian would not have fired the torpedo that sank the Iranian ship.
South Korea says it reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to receive 6 million barrels of crude oil, aiming to stabilize energy prices spiked by the escalating war in the Middle East.
Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff for South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, said in a briefing Friday that the emergency supplies are intended to curb fuel costs which surged this week.
Iran launched a new wave of missiles and drones targeting Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday morning, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.
South Korea’s foreign minister told a legislative hearing that the United States has not requested military or non-military assistance from Seoul over the war in the Middle East, but declined to comment on reports that Washington could relocate some of its assets in South Korea to support the fighting.
When asked by a lawmaker about a media report that U.S. forces were moving some of its Patriot anti-missile defense systems to a major air base near Seoul, Cho Hyun said he couldn’t confirm details related to U.S. military operations.
Cho said Seoul and Washington were maintaining close communication and that the allies’ combined defense posture would not be affected by developments in the Middle East.
U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement it does not “comment on the movement, relocation, or potential repositioning of specific military capabilities or assets” for operational security reasons.
The USFK statement came in response to questions from The Associated Press about a Yonhap News report, citing anonymous sources, that said U.S. forces moved multiple Patriot systems from other bases in South Korea to Osan Air Base, where transport aircraft were also spotted.
Yonhap said it wasn’t immediately clear whether the movements were linked to the war or joint U.S.-South Korea military drills beginning Monday.
“United States Forces Korea remains focused on maintaining a strong, ready, and combat-credible force posture on the Korean Peninsula,” the USFK said.
Etihad Airways said it is restarting a “limited flight schedule” from its hub in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi starting Friday.
The government-backed carrier has operated some flights in recent days, but its latest announcement suggests it is moving toward more regular operations.
Etihad said that previously booked passengers as well as new customers will be able to travel on the flights, assuming “all safety criteria are met.”
It listed more than 70 destinations it planned to fly to between Friday and March 19.
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry reported the destruction of another drone near Riyadh, this one to its northeast.
The Saudi Defense Ministry said it destroyed three drones in the eastern areas of Riyadh.
The ministry said earlier Friday that it intercepted a cruise missile over the city of Kharj.
Iranian state television reported Friday that a leadership council in the country met and discussed how to hold a meeting of the country’s Assembly of Experts, which will select the nation’s new supreme leader.
The leadership council includes President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi and cleric Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi.
The statement provided no timeline on the selection of the supreme leader, nor information on whether the Assembly of Experts would meet in person or remotely for the vote.
Buildings associated with the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical panel, have been attacked during the Israeli-U.S. airstrike campaign.
Residents of Dubai have been receiving mass text messages warning them about their social media activity.
A message attributed to Dubai police said that “photographing or sharing security or critical sites, or reposting unreliable information, may result in legal action and compromise national security and stability.”
There was no elaboration in the message.
It comes as Bahrain issued a similar, but sterner warning as the Iran war rages on across the Mideast.
The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven autocratic sheikhdoms home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The UAE, while socially liberal in many regards compared with its Middle Eastern neighbors, has strict laws governing expression and bans political parties and labor unions.
Missiles launched from Iran are seen in the sky over central Israel, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A man passes by a destroyed car and shop on a commercial street that was hit by Israeli airstrikes in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Mourners reach out to coffins during a funeral for people killed during the ongoing U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Qom, Iran, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Seyyed Mehdi Alavi/ISNA via AP)
Plumes of smoke rise as strikes hit the city during the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Dahiyeh area of Beirut, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
