India allowed the Iranian warship Lavan to dock at the southern port of Kochi as a humanitarian gesture after the vessel reported technical problems, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said. The decision came the same day the United States sank another Iranian navy ship, the frigate Dena, off the coast of Sri Lanka amid escalating conflict involving Iran, the United States, and Israel.

According to Indian officials, the docking request was made on February 28, the day the conflict began, and was described as urgent. The Lavan and two other ships had been scheduled to participate in a fleet review but were overtaken by events. India said it approached the matter from a humanitarian perspective despite broader legal and geopolitical concerns.

The United States attack on the Dena occurred in Sri Lanka's exclusive economic zone and resulted in at least 87 deaths. The Dena had been returning from a naval exercise organized by India. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan authorities are escorting another Iranian vessel, Booshehr, to harbor and relocating most of its crew to a navy facility near Colombo.