India Facilitates Safe Return: IRIS Lavan Crew Repatriated Amid US-Iran Tensions

In a significant move amid escalating tensions between Iran and the US, India has repatriated over 50 non-essential crew members of the Iranian warship IRIS Lavan. The vessel, which docked in Kochi on March 4, continues to remain in port due to urgent technical issues.

The repatriated sailors left India aboard a Turkish airline, following the retrieval of over 80 bodies of Iranian sailors from Colombo, where another warship was sunk by a US submarine off Sri Lanka. Remaining crew members are expected to travel back to Iran via road from Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.

This decision is part of India's wider diplomatic initiatives aimed at ensuring the safe passage for more than two dozen Indian-flagged merchant vessels positioned around the Strait of Hormuz. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been in constant communication with his Iranian counterpart as the West Asia crisis unfolds.