Sri Lanka evacuated 208 crew members of an Iranian Navy vessel on Thursday, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, a day after a US submarine struck and sank another Iranian frigate under its Operation Epic Fury against the Islamic Republic.According to Dissanayake, the Sri Lanka Navy will also take over the second vessel and shift it to the northeastern port of Trincomalee for safekeeping amid fears that could be a target for attack.Also Read | ‘Responded to distress call, rescue op ongoing’: India on Iran ship sunk by US off Sri Lanka coast
“We are not taking sides in this conflict, but while maintaining our neutrality we are taking action to save lives. No person should die in a war like this. Every life is equally precious,” Dissanayake said in a televised statement.The Sri Lankan Navy will crew the IRIS Bushehr, which had reported a fault with one of its engines, while the Iranian crew and cadets aboard will be transferred ashore for safety.It was feared that this vessel could be targeted the same way a sister vessel was sunk by a US submarine just off Sri Lanka’s southern coast on Wednesday.The sinking of IRIS Dena on Wednesday came as the war sparked by a joint US-Israel attack on Iran continued to spread across the Middle East and beyond.Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi denounced the attack and warned Washington it would “bitterly regret” establishing such a precedent.“The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning,” he posted on X.“Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set,” Araghchi added.Also Read | ‘Will bitterly regret’: Iran warns US after IRIS Dena, ‘Indian Navy’s guest’, sunk by torpedoSri Lanka’s foreign minister Vijitha Herath said he spoke with Araghchi to “express grave concern” over the escalation of hostilities and called for diplomatic dialogue.Sri Lanka earlier said that there were 180 people on board the ship — more than the Iranian figure — when it was struck by a torpedo, in what US defence secretary Pete Hegseth called “quiet death.”According to the medical staff, 32 rescued Iranians were still being treated under tight security provided by police and elite commandos at the hospital, adding that the walking wounded would be discharged soon.(With AFP inputs)
