FINANCIAL CHRONICLE – Sri Lanka extended an official invitation to Iranian ships, including the ill-fated IRIS Dena, which was sunk by a US submarine torpedo without any warning, according to Iran’s Ambassador to Colombo.
The attack on IRIS Dena resulted in the deaths of 104 sailors, with 20 still missing in action, while Sri Lanka managed to rescue 32 individuals who are currently receiving treatment on the island.
IRIS Dena had recently participated in MILAN 2026, an international naval exercise in India, before sailing toward Sri Lanka.
“During the exercise in India, your navy commander invited the Iranian Navy commander to send these vessels to Sri Lanka’s waters for friendly visits,” stated Alireza Delkhosh, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Sri Lanka, during a media briefing in Colombo on Monday (23).
He mentioned that the invitation was extended for all three ships: IRIS Dena, IRIS Boshehr, and IRIS Lavan.
Ambassador Delkhosh emphasized that IRIS Dena, which departed from Tehran prior to the onset of the Middle Eastern conflict, was not prepared for war. “It participated in a peaceful exercise in India. While in India, this vessel, along with two others, was invited— I repeat, invited— by the Sri Lankan side to come here and stay. They arrived at our invitation,” he explained.
He further noted, “During their time here, they did not receive any prior alerts from the United States. They were attacked without any warning.”
“Most of the people who lost their lives were not armed personnel; they were part of a music group. They were playing saxophone and violin and were killed without any alerts,” Delkhosh added.
Sri Lankan officials clarified that the Navy Commander’s invitation was informal and was not documented in writing. The government indicated that the Iranian Embassy in Colombo had requested “Goodwill Visits” for all three ships from March 9-13, while the IRIS Dena was attacked on March 4.
However, opposition legislators in parliament cited Iranian Embassy officials who claimed that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government delayed the IRIS Dena’s entry for 11 hours despite an urgent request on March 3.
Ambassador Delkhosh stated that he did not possess confirmed information regarding the 11-hour wait. “Dena was in an urgent position and they requested permission to enter the waters. But I don’t have any confirmed documentary evidence on whether they asked for urgent permission or not,” he said.
“If that was the case, all countries, regardless of their neutrality, should have some responsibilities, even from a humanitarian perspective, to provide assistance to them.”
(Colombo/March 23/2026)
