India, April 18 -- Sri Lanka has repatriated more than 200 Iranian sailors, including the 32 survivors of the US submarine attack that wrecked an Iranian warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean during the initial phases of the Iran war.

The repatriation comes amid intense negotiations that dislodged the passage in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz for the commercial vessels, reigniting prospects of a ceasefire to end the month-long conflict between the US and its adversary Iran.

On Friday, Sri Lankan officials announced that the personnel were returning to their home country after more than a month.

In a parallel statement to Reuters, Sri Lanka's Deputy Defence Minister, Aruna Jayasekara, said that the 32...