Strait of Hormuz Crisis: Iranian Sailors Repatriated Amid Tensions

A chartered Iranian plane left southern India late Friday, repatriating sailors and the bodies of crew members killed in a U.S. submarine attack near Sri Lanka, sources informed Reuters. This follows heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, triggered by the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.

The aircraft initially flew from Sri Lanka with bodies of 84 Iranian sailors killed last week, before making a stop in Kochi, southern India, to pick up additional Iranian sailors and tourists stranded in India. While an Iranian source confirmed the flight from Kochi, details regarding its destination were withheld for security reasons, said the official.

The IRIS Dena was destroyed by a U.S. submarine on March 4 as it departed from a naval exercise in India, aiming to demonstrate power amid the U.S.-Israeli-Iran tensions. Two other Iranian ships sought shelter in India and Sri Lanka, while Iran's ambassador to India confirmed the assurance of safe passage for Indian vessels through the Strait.