India gave another Iranian ship safe harbor before US strike

Santosh Kumar, Pratigya Vajpayee and Sudhi Ranjan Sen, Bloomberg News on Mar 7, 2026

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India said it allowed an Iranian naval vessel to dock in its port, days before a frigate from the Persian Gulf nation was sunk by a U.S. submarine.

Tehran had approached New Delhi on Feb. 28 to urgently accommodate the IRIS Lavan citing technical issues, an Indian official said in a text message to reporters. The request was approved on March 1 and the vessel has been docked at Kochi since Wednesday, with its 183-member crew housed at naval facilities there, the official said.

Allowing the Iranian ship to dock when it was facing challenges “was the humane thing to do” at the time, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said at an event on Saturday.

The docking comes at a sensitive time. Earlier this week, the U.S. sank the Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, off Sri Lanka’s coast, as the vessel was returning after participating in an international naval exercise hosted by India. The attack left more than 100 sailors missing or presumed dead.

It has also effectively brought the Middle East conflict to India’s doorstep, putting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a difficult position as his government continues to avoid taking firm sides in the widening conflict.

Iranian sailors will stay in India till the ship is repaired, with India not taking any steps to send them back yet, according to people familiar with matter, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. India hasn’t received any request from the U.S. on the vessel in Kochi, the people said.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sri Lanka, which rescued 32 sailors from IRIS Dena, earlier this week took control of another Iranian vessel, IRIS Bushehr, which also faced technical issues in its waters.