Bodies of 84 Iranian sailors killed in US torpedo strike to be repatriated
By BBC, March 13, 2026The bodies of 84 Iranian sailors killed in a torpedo attack by a US submarine last week in the Indian Ocean are due to be flown home on Friday, Sri Lanka’s defence ministry has said.
The seamen were among 130 thought to be aboard the Iranian warship, the Iris Dena, when it was sunk on March 4, 2026, about 40km (25 miles) from Sri Lanka’s southern coastline.
A police escort transferred bodies to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport on Friday, March 13, 2026, morning for the repatriation to Iran, after they were stored in two freezers at Galle National Hospital.
Sri Lanka said 32 sailors rescued by its navy after the torpedo attack “will remain in Sri Lanka”, according to news agency AFP.
A magistrate in the Sri Lankan city of Galle ordered that the 84 bodies should be released to the Iranian embassy.
U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said shortly after the sinking that the Iranian warship had died a “quiet death”.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US had “perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores”, adding that “the US will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set”.
Video released by the US Department of Defence after the incident showed a ship being struck, causing the stern to rise before exploding.
The Iris Dena had been returning from a military exercise hosted by India when it was attacked.
Its sinking in international waters came during the current US-Israeli war with Iran and marked a dramatic widening of the conflict.
Iran has since launched retaliatory strikes across the Middle East – targeting Gulf countries allied with the US.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had been contacted regarding the injured sailors, but they were not involved in the repatriation of the bodies.
A second Iranian warship, IRIS Bushehr, was allowed into Sri Lankan waters a day after Dena was sunk. Sri Lanka is providing a safe harbour for the ship and its crew of 219.
Sri Lankan officials said they have not begun discussions on repatriating the Bushehr crew and those rescued from Dena, but they will be treated in line with Colombo’s treaty obligations.
Of the 32 sailors rescued and hospitalised, 22 have since been discharged and are being held at an air force base in the south of the island, away from the Bushehr crew. Sri Lanka is currently hosting a total of 251 Iranian sailors.