New Delhi, March 7 -- The United States is reportedly pushing Sri Lanka not to repatriate the crew of IRIS Booshehr, the Iranian ship that was allowed to dock at Trincomalee, as well as the survivors from IRIS Dena, the Iranian warship, sunk by an American submarine earlier this week.

According to Reuters, an internal State Department cable dated March 6 said that Jayne Howell, the charge d'affaires at the US embassy in Colombo, had emphasized to Sri Lanka's government that neither the Booshehr crew nor the 32 Dena survivors should be repatriated to Iran.

"Sri Lankan authorities should minimize Iranian attempts to use the detainees for propaganda," it said.

The cable said Howell also told the Israeli ambassador to India and Sri Lanka t...