LIVE: Sri Lanka Says Another Iranian Vessel Is in Its Waters
Reports also indicated that preparations were underway in Tehran for funeral ceremonies related to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A Sri Lankan minister said Thursday that another Iranian ship has arrived in its waters, a day after a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the country’s coast, killing at least 87 people and wounding 32 others.
Government spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa confirmed the presence of the second Iranian ship in response to a question in parliament. But he did not provide further details about the ship or the number of people on board.
He said the government was making an “intervention to minimize loss of lives and to safeguard the regional peace.”
What to know:
- U.S. Senate Republicans rejected a bill to halt the war against Iran in an early show of support for Trump’s campaign. The resolution, which failed 47-53, demanded congressional approval before any further attacks. A twin bill in the House also faces an unlikely path against a GOP majority when lawmakers vote on it Thursday morning.
- Iranian state television aired a message Thursday from an ayatollah in Iran calling for the “shedding” of blood from Israelis and U.S. President Donald Trump. The message came from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli and represented a rare call for violence by an ayatollah.
Live Updates
- 5 March 2026 2:34 PM IST
Azerbaijan's foreign ministry confirms report of drone attacks carried out from Iranian territory
Two people were injured due to the attacks, the foreign ministry said. It said that Azerbaijan had summoned the Iranian ambassador and that the country reserves the right to retaliate.
Video footage shared by a source close to the government showed black smoke rising near the terminal of Nakhchivan International Airport, which is about 10 km (6 miles) from the border with Iran.
- 5 March 2026 2:32 PM IST
Italy to send air defence aid to Gulf states
Italy is planning to send air defence aid to Gulf countries in the face of Iranian air strikes, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday.
"Like the United Kingdom, France and Germany, Italy intends to send assistance to Gulf countries, specifically in the field of defence and in particular air defence," Meloni told radio station RTL 102.5.
- 5 March 2026 2:31 PM IST
Missiles and drones have fallen near airport in Azerbaijan
A source close to Azerbaijan's government said missiles and drones flying from the direction of Iran fell on the territory of the airport in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan on Thursday.
Nakhchivan International Airport is located roughly 10 km (6 miles) from the border with Iran.
- 5 March 2026 1:56 PM IST
Sri Lanka says second Iranian ship awaits entry
Sri Lanka on Thursday said it is deliberating appropriate action after a second Iranian ship has sought entry to its territorial waters, a day after a frigate belonging to the Islamic country was attacked near the island nation.Sri Lanka on Wednesday said it had recovered over 80 bodies of Iranian sailors killed after a US submarine attack sank the Iranian frigate - IRIS Dena - off Galle, the island's southern coastal town.
Government spokesman and minister Nalinda Jayathissa was on Thursday responding to a query by the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa in parliament about the second Iranian ship.
- 5 March 2026 1:40 PM IST
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday again cornered Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "silence" after a US submarine sank the Iranian warship "IRIS Dena" near Sri Lanka. Read More:
- 5 March 2026 1:03 PM IST
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said the United States will regret its action of destroying the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean. Read More:
- 5 March 2026 12:58 PM IST
Iranian state television airs message from an ayatollah calling for the ‘shedding’ of blood from Israelis and Trump.
- 5 March 2026 10:52 AM IST
Iranian and Israeli ambassadors trade accusations in South Korea
Ambassadors of Iran and Israel held separate press conferences Thursday in South Korea’s capital, trading sharp accusations as their countries continued an escalating war in the Middle East.Speaking through an interpreter, Iran’s Ambassador to South Korea Saeed Koozechi demanded Seoul — a key U.S. ally — to be more vocal in demanding a halt to what he called an illegal aggression by U.S. and Israeli forces, which launched attacks despite active negotiations.He said “many coffins would return to the United States” if it decides to deploy ground forces, and defended Iranian strikes on Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases as unavoidable.The Israel ambassador in Seoul, Raphael Harpaz, said the joint U.S.-Israeli military operations aim both to destroy Iran’s nuclear development facilities and ballistic missile sites, and to help free Iranian people from oppression.South Korea has supported U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions but has not explicitly endorsed the U.S.-Israeli attacks, instead calling for a swift restoration of dialogue.
