India offered sanctuary to Iranian ship three days before US sank it

The Iranian warship Iris Dena was given permission by India to dock three days before it was torpedoed by a US submarine, India has said.

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said Iran had sought permission for three of its ships to dock at Indian ports on 28 February - the day the US and Israel began a war on Iran - and permission was granted by India on 1 March.

The ships' movements between 1 and 4 March are not clear and nor is why only one of them made it to India.

The sinking of the Iris Dena, with 130 sailors on board, in international waters off Sri Lanka's southern coast on 4 March marked a dramatic widening of the war - and raised questions about India's authority in its backyard.

It was the first military strike outside the Middle East since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. President Donald Trump has said destroying Iran's navy is one aim of the assault.

The three Iranian ships - Iris Dena, Iris Bushehr and Iris Lavan - had all participated in a military exercise hosted by India between 15 and 25 February in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam.

They left Indian waters on 25 February and were likely to have been in international waters on 28 February - when the US and Israel began attacking Iran.

"The Iranian side had requested permission on 28 February for three ships in the region to dock at our ports. This was accorded on 1 March," Jaishankar told parliament on Monday. "Iris Lavan actually docked on 4 March in Kochi. The crew is currently in Indian naval facilities. We believe that this was the right thing to do."

On 4 March, Iris Dena sank after being hit by a torpedo fired from a US submarine, killing at least 87 of its crew members.

According to the Indian Navy, the Iris Dena was operating about 20 nautical miles - roughly 23 miles (37km) - west of Galle in waters that fall under Sri Lanka's designated search-and-rescue zone on the day it was struck.

The US tracks vessels across the world's oceans, and a quarter of its submarine fleet of 65-70 is at sea at any given time, according to analysts.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said last week the US had "perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores" and that the warship was "struck in international waters without warning."

Eventually, India also confirmed that Iris Lavan was docked in its southern city Kochi.

The BBC has written to the Iranian embassy in India and India's external affairs ministry seeking clarification on the movements of the three Iranian naval vessels after Delhi granted them permission to dock.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has touted the attack on Iris Dena as an example of America's military prowess, claiming it was "the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two".

While it is the first time since 1945 that an American submarine has sunk an enemy ship this way, the UK and Pakistan have both sunk vessels using torpedoes since then.

The Iris Dena was one of about 20 Iranian navy vessels destroyed since Israel and the US launched co-ordinated strikes on Iran.