"Sri Lanka evacuated and registered 208 Iranian naval personnel from the auxiliary vessel IRIS Bushehr on Friday, executing a humanitarian operation amid escalating regional conflict. Footage from Colombo shows local rescue boats approaching IRIS Bushehr and personnel being brought ashore before being medically examined and registered by authorities in the capital. Sri Lanka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said authorities granted the vessel permission to seek assistance on humanitarian grounds after it developed engine trouble in Sri Lankan waters. The Bushehr, a 107‑metre Iranian naval auxiliary ship normally staffed by around 270 personnel, requested entry after the nearby sinking of the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena by a US submarine off Sri Lanka’s southern coast earlier this week. The Sri Lanka Navy stated all 208 crew members on board were safely transferred to the port of Colombo, where they were taken to the Welisara naval base for medical checks and formal border procedures. The United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on February 28. Tehran later announced retaliatory strikes against Israel and US assets across the region, with explosions reported in several Gulf countries. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was later confirmed killed in a strike on Saturday. The escalation followed several rounds of nuclear talks between Iranian and American officials."