Tehran: Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi strongly condemned the United States after an American submarine allegedly sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, warning Washington that it would face bitter consequences for the attack. Araggchi stated that the ship was a guest of India's Navy and described the strike as an atrocity and signalled that the United States would regret the move.
According to US officials, the warship was struck by a torpedo nearly 2,000 miles from Iran while sailing in international waters near India with around 130 sailors on board. The US Department of Defence confirmed that a US Navy fast-attack submarine carried out the strike using a single Mk-48 torpedo, marking the first time an American submarine has sunk a surface warship since World War II. The last comparable incident occurred during the Falklands War, when the British submarine HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano in 1982.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the operation at a Pentagon briefing, stating that the Iranian vessel had believed it was safe in international waters but was sunk by a torpedo in what he described as the first such attack by the United States since World War II.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan 'Razin' Caine also confirmed that the strike was carried out by an unspecified fast-attack submarine. Iranian authorities described the vessel as one of the country’s “prize ships” and condemned the action as an act of aggression.
Sri Lankan Navy Recovers 87 Bodies After Tragedy
Meanwhile, rescue operations were launched by the Sri Lanka Navy after the vessel issued a distress call in the Indian Ocean. According to Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, naval ships and air force aircraft were dispatched early in the morning to locate survivors from the sinking frigate.
Authorities said the ship had about 180 people on board when it went down. Sri Lankan officials reported recovering 87 bodies and rescuing 32 sailors from the water as part of the ongoing search and rescue mission.
