India had allowed an Iranian vessel to dock in Kochi after it developed “technical issues” days before a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship off the southern Sri Lankan coast, government sources claimed on Friday.
The revelation comes in the wake of mounting criticism over the way India handled the sinking of IRIS Dena.
IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate, was torpedoed by a US submarine 40 nautical miles off Galle in southern Sri Lanka early on Wednesday while it was returning from an India-organised naval exercise in Visakhapatnam.
Sources said on Friday that another Iranian ship, IRIS Lavan, was also in the region in connection with the International Fleet Review. Iran, sources said, approached India to “take in” the ship on February 28, the day Israel and the US launched their strikes on Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“This request was received on February 28, indicating that a docking at Kochi was urgent as the vessel had developed technical issues. Approval was accorded for the docking on March 1. IRIS LAVAN has since docked at Kochi on March 4. In this context, its crew of 183 are currently accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi,” a government source said.
India had issued a bland statement on Thursday over the sinking of IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean after maintaining stony silence for nearly 36 hours. The statement, however, mainly focused on India’s participation in rescue efforts and avoided any comment that might annoy the US.
Opposition parties had lashed out at the Narendra Modi government’s silence
for a full day, saying that never before had the Indian government looked so “timid and fearful”.
Government sources on Friday described as “baseless and preposterous” claims
that the Indian Navy provided intelligence to the US on IRIS Dena.
“There is no question of providing any input to the US on it, and the claims are completely baseless,” the source said.
The strike on the Iranian warship on Wednesday had triggered a sharp reaction from Iran. At least 87 Iranian sailors were killed in the attack, which marked a major escalation in the conflict between the US and Iran outside of the Persian Gulf.
Lanka succour
Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday they were escorting a second Iranian naval vessel to the harbour and moving 208 of its crew to a camp.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his country had a “humanitarian responsibility” to take in the crew, as the US and Israeli war with Iran raged, wreaking havoc on global markets and disrupting trade and travel.
The Sri Lankan navy identified the second Iranian ship as naval auxiliary vessel IRIS Booshehr.
Iranian sailors were seen dragging suitcases and carrying bags as they disembarked in Sri Lanka, in pictures shared by the Presidential Media Division.
Other images showed Sri Lankan navy tug boats and naval vessels approaching the Booshehr, which Dissanayake earlier said would be moved to the Trincomalee harbour on the eastern coast.
“About 15 crewmen are still aboard the Iranian ship to help with navigation,” a Sri Lankan government source said.
The crew was brought to the port in Colombo, where they had medical check-ups and were then moved in groups to a navy camp in Welisara, about 18km away, the officials added.
Additional reporting by PTI