Sri Lanka did not receive prior notice from US over strike on Iranian warship: Govt. Spokesman
March 10, 2026 04:10 pm
The government of Sri Lanka was not informed in advance about the strike carried out by the United States on an Iranian warship in seas close to Sri Lanka’s maritime boundary.
Speaking at the weekly Cabinet media briefing held today (10) at the Department of Government Information, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa stressed that U.S. defense authorities had not issued any prior notification to Sri Lanka regarding the attack.
The Minister explained that when two countries are involved in a military confrontation, it is generally unlikely that one country would notify a third country before launching an attack against the other.
“When two countries are at war, I don’t think one country would inform a third country before attacking the other. Therefore, no such notification was given,” Minister Jayatissa said.
He further noted that he was not certain how the Sri Lankan Navy initially received information about the incident. However, the country’s maritime authorities were alerted after reports indicated that several bodies and life jackets were seen floating in the sea area, the Minister added.
Minister Jayatissa said that he could not confirm the exact source of the initial alert received by Sri Lanka’s maritime coordination center regarding the incident.
According to Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, a total of 32 individuals were rescued alive, while several others were reported missing, and a number of bodies had been recovered during search operations.
