New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told parliament on Monday that Iran requested permission for three ships to dock at Indian ports on February 28, the same day United States and Israeli forces struck the country, with India clearing the request the following day, but made no reference to the US sinking an Iranian warship in international waters near Sri Lanka.He made identical statements in both houses of parliament, even as the opposition protested demanding a comprehensive discussion on West Asia, rather than a single communication from government.“The Iranian side had requested permission on 28th February for three ships in the region to dock at our ports. This was accorded on 1st March,” Jaishankar said on Monday morning after the resumption of the budget session.One of those vessels, IRINS Lavan, arrived in Kochi on March 4, where its largely cadet crew remains at naval facilities, he said, calling India’s decision “the right thing to do” and a “humane gesture”.Jaishankar said the Iranian foreign minister had conveyed his country’s thanks. Iran’s official account of the phone call had no mention of the docking of the Iranian ship in India, but the Iranian ambassador did express thanks to a news agency. He also made no mention, factual or condemnatory, of the sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena, even as the attack has sharply escalated insecurity in the region.Jaishankar’s parliamentary statement differs from his earlier remarks at the Raisina Dialogue on March 7, where he had suggested that a single vessel sought entry into India because it was facing difficulties at sea.At the conference, he recalled that India had received a message from “the Iranian side that one of the ships – which presumably was closest to our waters at that point – wanted to come in to our port” because it was “having problems”.He had noted on March 7 that “one of the ships” had a “similar situation in Sri Lanka” and “one unfortunately didn’t make it”, a likely allusion to IRIS Dena.Monday’s formal parliamentary statement, however, omitted any reference to a ship that “didn’t make it” and did not acknowledge its sinking or the US involvement.The Indian minister did not explain why, if India had granted permission for the ships to dock, two of them did not avail themselves of it.IRIS Dena had been invited to the International Fleet Review and Milan 2026 exercises in Visakhapatnam which ended on February 25. The two other ships, IRINS Lavan and IRINS Busheshr, were on a training mission and not listed as invited ships at the fleet review, though Jaishankar had said earlier on Saturday that the vessels “were coming in for a fleet review” and were “caught on the wrong side of events”.According to some reports, the three ships were not sailing together but were at different locations in the region.A timeline reconstructed from official statements of Indian and Sri Lankan governments about ships’ presence in the region shows that Iran first approached Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry on February 26 seeking permission for three naval vessels to dock at a Sri Lankan port between March 9 and 13.Sri Lankan President Anura Dissanayake said at a press conference on March 5 that the visit had been described by Iran as one intended to “enhance cooperation”, but Sri Lanka found that the vessels were positioned close to, but outside, its national maritime zone and was still assessing the request when the conflict began.On February 27, Sri Lanka was informed that a sailor aboard IRINS Bushehr had been injured. Sri Lankan authorities brought the sailor and an accompanying officer ashore for medical treatment.The following day, February 28, the US-Israel strikes on Iran began.On that same day, according to Jaishankar’s statement in Parliament, Iran also formally requested permission from India for the three ships to dock at Indian ports. This means that Iran had approached India even as Sri Lanka was processing the requests as per Dissanayake’s account. India gave clearance on March 1.At about 5.08 a.m. on March 4, Sri Lanka received an SOS signal from IRIS Dena. Sri Lankan authorities later said that at least 90 bodies were recovered from the ship, with 32 survivors rescued.Later the same day, IRINS Bushehr requested permission from Sri Lanka to dock after reporting engine damage. After permission was granted, most of its crew disembarked in Colombo.Meanwhile in Kochi, another Iranian vessel, IRINS Lavan, also arrived to dock, though its presence was publicly disclosed only two days later.In another delayed public messaging, India, according to a statement issued by the Indian Navy on March 5, said that it had been aware of the distress signal received by the Sri Lankan Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre. It deployed a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at 10 a.m. to assist the search operation, while another aircraft carrying life rafts was kept on standby.he training ship INS Tarangini was diverted and reached the area only by 4 p.m., by which time Sri Lankan authorities had completed their search and rescue operation. Another Indian vessel, INS Ikshak, was also deployed to search the area.Earlier in the day on March 5, India had further tried to recalibrate its position with Foreign Secretary visiting the Iranian embassy in New Delhi to sign the condolence book for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It marked the first acknowledgement by the Indian government of the killing of Khamenei by Israeli missiles four days earlier.Incidentally, in his parliamentary statement, Jaishankar also did not refer directly to Ayatollah Khamenei’s death, saying only that Iranian leaders had been killed. “There have been numerous casualties, including at the leadership level in Iran, as well as destruction of infrastructure in the region.”The foreign minister stated the government had issued a statement on February 28 expressing “deep concern” and urging all sides to exercise restraint. “We believe, and we continue to believe, that dialogue and diplomacy should be pursued to de-escalate tension and address underlying issues,” he said, adding that it was imperative that “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states in the region be respected”.He informed that the conflict had so far resulted in the deaths of two Indian mariners working aboard merchant vessels in the region, with one more still missing.Jaishankar said nearly one crore Indians lived and worked in Gulf countries, while “a few thousand Indians” were in Iran for study or employment. “The region is key to our energy security and includes many important suppliers of oil and gas,” he said, noting that the Gulf accounted for nearly US$200 billion in trade with India annually.As of Sunday, approximately 67,000 Indian nationals had returned from the region, Jaishankar said. He said 15 inbound flights by Indian carriers arrived on March 7, 49 on March 8, and 50 were scheduled for March 9. “I want to assure the House that every effort is being made,” he said.Prime Minister Modi had spoken to the leaders of the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, and Israel, Jaishankar said, receiving assurances in each case that the well-being of the Indian community would be a priority.“While attempts have been made, contacts with Iran at the leadership level are obviously difficult at this time,” he said, adding that he had personally spoken to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on February 28 and March 5. He made no mention of any communication with Washington regarding the sinking of IRIS Dena.On energy, Jaishankar said “serious supply chain disruptions and climate of instability” posed serious risks, and that the government remained committed to ensuring supply with “the interest of the Indian consumer” as the overriding priority. He said Indian diplomacy had supported the efforts of Indian energy enterprises in the volatile situation, without elaborating.