Bodies of 84 Iranian sailors killed in US torpedo strike to be repatriated
The seamen died when Iranian warship the Iris Dena was sunk on 4 March by a US submarine near Sri Lanka.
Coverage by Political Leaning
See how different sides of the spectrum reported this story
Notable Quotes
"the Iranian warship had died a 'quiet death'."
— Pete Hegseth , Executive
"the US had 'perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores'."
— Abbas Araghchi , Politician
"minimise Iranian attempts to use the detainees for propaganda."
— Jayne Howell , Other
"We are expecting a response from Teheran over the next few days."
— Aruna Jayasekara , Politician
"We honor the fallen sailors of the #Dena frigate, martyred on 4 March far from their homeland."
— Esmaeil Baqaei , Politician
"That vessel was by invitation of our Indian friends, attending an international exercise. It was ceremonial. It was unloaded. It was unarmed."
— Saeed Khatibzadeh , Politician
"The IRIS Dena was described as a 'prize ship' and said it 'died a quiet death.'"
— Pete Hegseth , Executive
"The attack has been described as 'an atrocity at sea' and stressed that it had been 'a guest of India’s Navy.'"
— Abbas Araghchi , Politician
Key People
Abbas Araghchi is the Foreign Minister of Iran.
Deputy Defence Minister of Sri Lanka.
Esmaeil Baqaei is a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry.
She is the charge d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Colombo.
Mohammad Fathali is the Iranian Ambassador to India.
Pete Hegseth is the United States Secretary of Defense.
Saeed Khatibzadeh is Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister.
Tags
All Coverage
The seamen died when Iranian warship the Iris Dena was sunk on 4 March by a US submarine near Sri Lanka.
A Sri Lankan court has ordered the repatriation of 84 Iranian sailors' bodies from the IRIS Dena, which was sunk by a U.S. submarine on March 4, 2026.
A local court in Sri Lanka has ordered that the bodies of 84 sailors killed in an attack on the Iranian warship IRIS Dena be handed over to the Iranian embassy.
The United States and Iran have offered sharply different accounts of the sinking of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean last week.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson honored the sailors of the IRIS Dena frigate killed after a U.S. submarine torpedoed the vessel near Sri Lanka.
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