https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxrvI8Wru_g

IRAN’S AIR DEFENSE DOMINATES: 900 Hermes & Heron Drones Neutralized | World News

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims a staggering 900 enemy drones shot down, including Israel’s advanced Hermes 900 and Heron UAVs, over Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, Lebanese, and Yemeni skies. Tehran says Hermes 900 was brought down intact over Isfahan, allowing Iranian engineers to exploit Israeli technology. Heron UAVs and other high-end drones are facing the same fate, as integrated air-defense systems, long-range radar, and electronic warfare dominate regional airspace. While some analysts caution cumulative totals may include smaller drones, the strategic impact is undeniable, signaling a new era of deterrence and drone warfare in the Middle East.

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

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Sri Lanka takes custody of an Iranian vessel off its coast after US sank an Iranian warship

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka transferred more than 200 sailors from an Iranian naval vessel to shore Friday after it sought assistance while anchored outside the country’s waters, as tensions mounted in the Indian Ocean following the sinking of an Iranian warship by a U.S. submarine.

Sri Lankan navy spokesperson Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath said 204 sailors of the IRIS Bushehr were brought to Welisara Naval Base near the capital, Colombo. They underwent border control procedures and medical tests, but none were found to have health issues.

About 15 others have been left aboard the ship with Sri Lankan naval personnel for assistance because they had reported a fault with the ship. The Iranian sailors are interpreting operational instructions, manuals and logs for their Sri Lankan counterparts. He said the ship will be taken to the port of Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka, and remain in Sri Lankan custody until further notice.

The Sri Lankan government took custody of the Bushehr after the U.S. sank an Iranian warship, the IRIS Dena, off Sri Lanka’s coast Wednesday. The strike marked one of the rare instances since World War II in which a submarine sank a surface warship [ACCORDING TO SOME REPORTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS, THE IRANIAN SHIPS HAD NO WEAPONS], and highlighted the expanding scope of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.

The Dena had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading into international waters on its way home. At least 74 countries had joined the events, according to India's Defense Ministry, including the U.S. Navy, which conducted reconnaissance aircraft and maritime patrol drills.

The Indian navy received a distress signal from the Dena but by the time it launched a search and rescue operation, the Sri Lankan navy had already begun its own rescue efforts, the ministry said.

The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Dena had been carrying “almost 130” crew. The normal crew size for a warship of that class is 140. Araghchi called the sinking an “atrocity at sea” and said the US would “bitterly regret” the attack.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said late Thursday that authorities decided to take control of the IRIS Bushehr after discussions with Iranian officials and the ship’s captain, after one of its engines failed.

“We have to understand that this is not an ordinary situation. It’s a request by a ship belonging to one party to enter into our port. We have to consider that according to the international treaties and conventions,” he told journalists Thursday night.

Separately on Friday, he wrote on X: “No civilian should die in wars. Our approach is that every single life is as precious as our own.”

The IRIS Bushehr had been described in previous Iranian media reports as a navy logistics ship equipped with a helicopter pad.

Dissanayake said Sri Lanka was guided by neutrality while seeking to uphold humanitarian principles.

“We have followed a very clear stance. We will not be biased to any state nor we will be submissive to any state,” he said.

The broadening Middle East conflict is putting strategically located Sri Lanka in a delicate position as it tries to balance humanitarian obligations, international maritime law and its longstanding policy of non-alignment.

H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, Sri Lanka’s retired former foreign secretary who also served as its permanent representative to the United Nations, said the country had acted responsibly and impartially.

“There has been a distress call from the ship. So naturally Sri Lanka, as a party to the Law of Sea and The Hague Convention, had no option but to do what it did by mounting a humanitarian operation to provide assistance to save lives and provide medical care to the affected,” he said.

Palihakkara said parties to the conflict would understand that Sri Lanka was not taking sides.

“You could not have ignored the distress call. Even the attacking powers cannot leave shipwrecked sailors dying. That is the law,” Palihakkara said.

Katsuya Yamamoto, director of the Strategy and Deterrence Program at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo, said Sri Lanka, which is not at war with either the U.S. or Iran, is considered a neutral state. As such, the Bushehr can enter a Sri Lankan port if granted permission by the government, he said.

Yamamoto said that once the vessel is docked, it falls under Iranian jurisdiction, leaving Sri Lankan authorities without legal grounds to inspect it unless Colombo decides to side with the U.S.

The U.N. resident coordinator in Sri Lanka, Marc-André Franche, welcomed Sri Lanka's intervention, saying on X that it reflected its commitment to “multilateralism, maintaining neutrality, and underscoring its dedication to peace.”

Australia’s government confirmed on Friday that three Australians were aboard the submarine that sank the IRIS Dena. The Australians were there as part of the trilateral U.S., Australian and British training program under the AUKUS security pact.

The Australian government has maintained it was not warned that the U.S and Israel planned to attack Iran. Australia has not commented on the legality of the attack, but supports the objective of preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons.

Neil James, executive director of the Australian Defense Association policy think tank, said it is “reasonably rare” for Australians embedded with another nation’s military to go to war against a country such as Iran that Australia wasn’t at war with.

He said an Australian would not have fired the torpedo that sank the Iranian ship

“The Australians wouldn’t have a job where they had to push the button on the torpedo because the captain of the boat gives the order and someone else, perhaps the weapons officer, presses the button but they’re not going to be Australian,” James said.

___

Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Associated Press writers Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

https://www.aol.com/articles/sri-lanka-takes-control-iranian-063958769.html

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.