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UPI ID : enb@axis.com
UPI ID : enb@axis.com
Sri Lanka repatriates 238 stranded Iranian sailors: Minister Published Apr 15, 2026, STCOLOMBO - Sri Lanka has repatriated 238 Iranian sailors stranded in the South Asian country after one of their warships was torpedoed by a US submarine, a minister told AFP on April 15.Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara said 32 sailors rescued from the IRIS Dena – a frigate attacked on March 4 just off Sri Lanka – and another 206 from the IRIS Bushehr left on April 14.“A few sailors from the IRIS Bushehr are staying back to operate the vessel, but 206 joined those rescued from the IRIS Dena and returned home last night in a chartered aircraft,” Mr Jayasekara said.Official sources said 15 Iranian sailors will remain in Sri Lanka to operate the IRIS Bushehr, which is anchored off Trincomalee in the north-east of the island.The attack on the IRIS Dena brought the Middle East conflict into the Indian Ocean, killing 104 sailors in the early days of the US and Israeli war against Iran, according to Iranian authorities.The bodies of 84 victims were recovered and have been repatriated.In March, Iran’s ambassador to Sri Lanka Alireza Delkhosh said Tehran was in talks with Colombo to repatriate sailors from the IRIS Bushehr which was given safe harbour in Sri Lanka after the IRIS Dena was sunk.Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the island provided protection to the Bushehr crew on humanitarian grounds in line with the 1907 Hague Convention.It was not immediately clear on what basis the sailors from the second Iranian vessel were allowed to leave Sri Lankan custody.Sri Lanka has refused permission for US warplanes to use ground facilities in the country in order to maintain Colombo’s neutrality.A third Iranian ship – the IRIS Lavan, with 183 crew members – sought shelter in India’s Kochi port in early March.More than 100 non-essential crew of the IRIS Lavan have since left India. AFP
Bound for orbit: a rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan satellite launch centre in north-west China in June 2024 carrying the TEE-01B satelliteTehran deploys Chinese satellite to target US bases across Middle East▸ Craft bought by IRGC space force ▸ Images of military sites captured ▸ Beijing denies involvementFT REPORTERS Miles Johnson, Peter Andringa, Alison Killing and Charles Clover in London and Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington. Additional reporting by Chris Campbell in London and Joe Leahy in BeijingIran secretly acquired a Chinese spy satellite that has given the Islamic republic a powerful capability to target US military bases across the Middle East during the war, a Financial Times investigation has revealed.Leaked Iranian military documents show the satellite — TEE-01B — was acquired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force for about Rmb250mn ($36.6mn) in 2024 after its launch into space from China. The force oversees Iran’s ballistic missile, drone and space programmes.Time-stamped co-ordinate lists, satellite imagery and orbital analysis show that Iranian commanders have used the satellite to monitor US military sites. The images were taken in March before and after drone and missile strikes on those locations.TEE-01B was built and launched by Earth Eye Co, a Chinese company that offers “in-orbit delivery”, a model under which spacecraft launched in China are transferred to overseas customers after reaching orbit. As part of the agreement, the IRGC was granted access to commercial ground stations operated by Emposat, a Beijing provider of satellite control and data services.The use of a Chinese-built satellite by the IRGC during a war where Tehran has targeted its neighbours is highly sensitive. China is the largest trading partner of the Gulf countries and the largest buyer of their oil.The logs show that the satellite captured images of Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 13, 14 and 15. On March 14, US President Donald Trump confirmed US planes at the base had been hit.The satellite also conducted surveillance of Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, locations close to the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Bahrain and Erbil airport, Iraq, around the time of IRGC-claimed attacks on those areas.“This satellite is clearly being used for military purposes as it is being run by the IRGC’s Aerospace Force and not Iran’s civilian space programme,” said Nicole Grajewski, an expert on Iran at Sciences Po university. “Iran really needs this foreign-provided capability.”Earth Eye Co says on its website that it has made one “in-orbit” transfer to an unnamed country that was part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Iran joined B&R in 2021. It adds that the satellite was intended for use in “agriculture, ocean monitoring, emergency management, natural resource supervision, and municipal transportation”.Under the deal, Emposat provides the IRGC with the software and network to run the satellite. These would allow the IRGC to direct the satellite’s operations from anywhere in the world.“This amounts to a dispersion strategy for Iran’s space assets,” said Jim Lamson, a former CIA analyst focused on Iran and a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. “Iran’s satellite ground stations . . . can be hit very easily. You can’t just hit a Chinese ground station located in another country.”China’s foreign ministry dismissed the FT reports as “untrue”, adding: “Recently, certain forces have been keen to fabricate rumours and maliciously link them to China.”Earth Eye and Emposat did not respond to requests for comment.The CIA declined to comment. The White House referred to comments Trump made at the weekend when he said China would face “big problems” if it gave Iran air defence systems.
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