India Allowed Another Iranian Warship to Dock Days Before Us Sank IRIS Dena: NDTV

Days before the sinking of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, the Government of India permitted a second Iranian naval vessel to dock at the naval base in Kochi, NDTV has reported.

According to the Indian news outlet, Iran’s amphibious ship IRIS Lavan was in the region after participating in the MILAN multilateral naval exercise and the International Fleet Review. On February 28, as tensions in the Middle East escalated with simultaneous strikes by Israel and the United States — including the reported death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — Tehran requested permission from New Delhi to allow Lavan to “take in” at an Indian port.

Indian authorities approved the request on March 1, and IRIS Lavan subsequently docked at Kochi. The vessel remained there when, on March 4, a US submarine allegedly torpedoed IRIS Dena about 40 nautical miles off Galle, in southern Sri Lanka. The Iranian frigate sank after the attack; Sri Lankan officials later said they had recovered the bodies of 87 crew members.

NDTV’s sources said all 183 personnel aboard IRIS Lavan are now accommodated at naval facilities in the Kochi area.