US submarine sinks Iranian warship in Indian Ocean, Hegseth saysUS Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has announced that an American submarine destroyed an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. He said the vessel was struck by a torpedo on Tuesday, adding that it sank quietly after the attack. Although Hegseth did not initially identify the ship, Sri Lankan authorities later reported responding to a distress signal from an Iranian naval vessel called the Iris Dena on Wednesday morning. The ship had gone down about 40km off Sri Lanka’s southern coast.
A Sri Lankan defence official told BBC Sinhala that rescue teams recovered 80 bodies from the wreck. The Sri Lankan navy also confirmed that 32 survivors were pulled from the water. A navy spokesperson said documents indicated that around 180 people had been on board the Iris Dena.According to Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath, the survivors were badly injured and had been transported to a hospital in the southern port city of Galle. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Hegseth said the Iranian warship had believed it was safe in international waters before it was attacked by a US submarine. He also claimed the incident marked the first time an enemy ship had been sunk by a torpedo since the end of World War Two.
However, while this is the first instance since 1945 of a US submarine sinking an enemy vessel in such a manner, both the United Kingdom and Pakistan have used torpedoes to sink ships in later conflicts.Footage released by the US Department of Defense appeared to show a vessel being hit, with its stern lifting from the water before a large explosion occurred. Earlier reports from Sri Lanka suggested uncertainty about what caused the sinking. Navy spokesman Budhika Sampath initially dismissed claims that the Iris Dena had been attacked by a submarine. He explained that when rescue teams arrived at the scene, they did not see the vessel or any other ships nearby, but observed oil slicks and life rafts floating on the water.
Sampath added that although the incident occurred outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, it fell within the country’s search and rescue zone, obligating authorities to respond under international maritime rules. The Iris Dena, first launched in 2015, is a destroyer assigned to Iran’s Southern Fleet, which operates in areas including the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. The vessel had recently taken part in the International Fleet Review 2026, a multinational naval exercise hosted by India. Its sinking comes as the United States and Israel continue air strikes on Iran for the fifth consecutive day.
Israeli forces said they targeted several security headquarters across the capital, Tehran, on Wednesday. Israel has also carried out air strikes in Lebanon and deployed ground troops to southern parts of the country following rocket and drone attacks launched by the militant group Hezbollah. Iran has continued retaliatory operations, with fresh strikes reported in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on Wednesday. Turkey also stated that NATO defence systems intercepted an Iranian missile that was heading toward Turkish territory.
Sri Lanka has maintained a neutral stance in the conflict, urging all sides to exercise restraint and pursue immediate de-escalation.Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath also paid tribute to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated on Saturday. A government spokesperson later said Sri Lanka would issue an official message of condolence for all those who have died in the conflict, including Iranian leaders and officials.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/
