US submarine sinks Iranian warship; 87 bodies found, 32 sailors rescued by Sri Lankan Navy

An Iranian frigate with an estimated 180 Navy personnel on board was sunk in the Indian Ocean by a US submarine on Wednesday off the coast of Sri Lanka, killing 87 people on board. The Sri Lankan Navy was able to rescue 32 people on board frigate IRIS Dena. The fate of the remaining crew members is unknown.The Iranian warship was venturing in the international shipping lane off the Sri Lankan coast after participating in India’s International Fleet Review and subsequent MILAN exercise off Visakhapatnam, which concluded on Feb 25, when it was attacked by the US.




During a press briefing in Washington, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Iranian warship that sank in the Indian Ocean was the Islamic Republic’s “prize ship” and also revealed that it was the “the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II”. “Like in that war, we are fighting to win,” he said.

According to the Pentagon, its submarine engaged the Iranian warship after it was identified as a potential threat amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran in West Asia. Officials said the torpedo strike was precise and resulted in the rapid incapacitation of the warship.

The Sri Lankan Navy said it recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people. Sri Lanka's foreign minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament that its navy received information that IRIS Dena, with 180 people on board, was in distress and sinking. The island nation sent ships and air force planes on a rescue mission, he said. Navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath told the media that by the time their ships reached the location of distress signals, there was no sign of the Iranian ship and “were only some oil patches and life rafts. We found people floating on the water”.

He said 32 people rescued were admitted to a hospital in the seaside town of Galle on the southern coast. The bodies recovered were being brought to land, he said. Both Sri Lanka's navy and the air force said they were not releasing footage of the rescue because it involved the military of another state.

Iran has not yet commented on the sinking. At least 17 Iranian naval vessels have been sunk during the ongoing Iran-US conflict, said US Adm Brad Cooper, who leads the American military's Central Command. The Pentagon says one of the main aims of the US-Israeli war against Iran, launched Saturday, is to wipe out the country's navy.

The US Navy has about 50 nuclear-powered attack submarines in three classes, Los Angeles, Virginia and Seawolf. Because of their nuclear propulsion and design, all are extremely quiet — intended to tail enemy vessels without being detected. It was not clear which submarine fired the torpedo.

US submarines are typically armed with Mk48 heavyweight torpedoes, which carry 650 pounds of explosive meant to detonate beneath a target’s keel, snapping it in two.

Meanwhile, Qatar said on Thursday it was evacuating residents living near the US embassy in Doha after Iranian strikes on the Gulf state in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks. Loud explosions were heard in the capital on Tuesday as Iran targeted sites across the region. A ballistic missile struck the US Al-Udeid base, while authorities also said they had foiled an attack on Hamad International Airport.