GALLE, Sri Lanka. — A United States submarine sank a iranian warship in front of the Sri Lankan coastand the Sri Lankan navy reported Wednesday that it recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people.
The Iranian ship sunk in the Indian Ocean was the “flagship” of the Islamic Republicstated the United States Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. It was one of the few cases of a submarine sinking a ship from the Second World War.
The United States sank an Iranian warship with a submarine-launched torpedo in the Indian Ocean.
It is the first time since World War II that the US has carried out a military offensive of this type.pic.twitter.com/jcN3TTbAgB
— Joaquín López-Dóriga (@lopezdoriga) March 4, 2026
He sinking of the IRIS Dena illustrates a US-Israeli military operation against Iran’s military that is spreading beyond its borders. He president of the United States, Donald Trumphas said that one of the key objectives of the war is to take out Iran’s Navy.
“A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship that it thought was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon news conference. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirms that Iranian Frigate IRIS Dena was sunk by a US submarine using a torpedo in international waters off Sri Lanka. “First sinking of an enemy ship by the US using a torpedo since WW2″, Hegseth addressing a press conference.
There were… pic.twitter.com/FQfU4usC35
— Dinakar Peri (@dperi84) March 4, 2026
The IRIS Dena with 180 people on board
The minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Vijitha Herathdeclared before Parliament that his Navy received information that the IRIS Denacon 180 people on boardwas in trouble and was sinking. The island nation sent ships and air force planes on a rescue mission, he said.
The navy spokesman, Cmdr. Buddhika Sampathexplained that, when the Navy ships arrived at the scene, there was no sign of the ship and “there were only some oil stains and life rafts. We found people floating in the water.”
He added that the 32 rescued people were admitted to a hospital in the coastal town of Galle, on the southern coast of Sri Lanka. The recovered bodies were being transferred to land, he said.
In it Galle National Hospitalthe bodies of Iranian sailors were arriving in trucks and being stored in a makeshift morgue. Police and naval personnel provided security at the hospital, while workers unloaded the bodies out of sight.
The doctor Anil Jasinghea senior official of the Ministry of Healthsaid that one of the rescued people is in critical condition, seven are receiving emergency treatment and the others were treated for minor injuries.
He IRIS Dena —one of Iran’s newest warships—is a Moudge-class frigate that patrols deep waters for the Iranian Navy. It is armed with heavy cannons, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. It also carries a helicopter.
The frigate was the centerpiece of a two-ship international tour in 2023 that included port calls in countries including South Africa and Brazil. She was accompanied by the support ship IRIS Makran, a converted oil tanker.
He United States Department of the Treasury put both ships on a sanctions list in February 2023, along with eight executives from an Iranian drone manufacturer that supplied the weapons to Russia for use against civilian targets in Ukraine.
At least 17 Iranian naval vessels have been sunk during the ongoing war, said US Admiral Brad Cooper, who heads US Central Command. “We are also sinking the Iranian Navy, the entire Navy,” he said in a video message.
US and Israel war against Iran
The United States and Israel launched war on Saturday, targeting Iran’s leadership, its missile arsenal and its nuclear program, while suggesting that overthrowing the government is a goal. But the exact goals and deadlines have changed repeatedly, indicating a conflict of indefinite duration.
Furthermore, Israel was exchanging fire with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah —backed by Iran— in Lebanon, while Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel.
As the conflict spiraled out of control, Türkiye said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkish airspace.
At least 1,045 people have died in Iran, more than 50 in Lebanon, 11 in Israel, and six U.S. soldiers, according to officials in those countries. The war has disrupted global oil and gas supplies, disrupted international shipping and stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.
You might also be interested: “Pedro Sánchez says “no to war” in Iran despite Trump’s trade threat to Spain“
Leave a Reply