Last Updated on March 5, 2026 12:46 am by INDIAN AWAAZ
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth today claimed that a torpedo from a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. In a Pentagon briefing today, Hegseth said that last night’s strike on an Iranian warship was the first such attack on an enemy since World War II.
AMN / NEWS DESK
The US-Israel military confrontation with Iran has now spilled into the strategically sensitive waters of the Indian Ocean, an area of significant importance to India. An American submarine reportedly torpedoed and sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in international waters off the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
The strike marks the first time since World War II that the United States has sunk an enemy vessel using a submarine-launched torpedo. The frigate — a relatively small but capable warship — was said to be returning from joint naval drills in India at the time of the attack. Its participation in the International Fleet Review 2026 in Visakhapatnam had highlighted growing maritime engagement in the region before the sudden escalation.
According to media reports at least 80 personnel were killed in the incident, though US officials have not officially confirmed casualty figures. The development has added a new layer of tension to an already volatile regional security environment.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged the submarine strike, describing it as a demonstration of America’s global military reach amid the ongoing hostilities with Iran.
“An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that believed it was secure in international waters. Instead, it was destroyed by a torpedo,” Hegseth told reporters.
The sinking has raised serious concerns about maritime stability in the Indian Ocean region, particularly for India and other South Asian nations that depend heavily on these sea lanes for trade and energy supplies.
.The Sri Lankan navy says around 180 people were on board, with 32 rescued. A spokesman tells the BBC the cause of the sinking is not known
Sri Lanka’s navy has confirmed that it’s rescued 32 people after it received a distress call from Iranian navy ship ‘IRIS Dena’ early this morning.
Budhika Sampath, the spokesman of Sri Lanka’s navy says: “Though it was beyond our waters, it was within our search and rescue region. So we were obliged to respond as per international obligations.”
He adds: “We found people floating on the water, rescued them, and later when we inquired we found that those people are from an Iranian ship.”
He also says that according to the documentation of the ship 180 people are believed to have been on board, although the exact number of missing is unknown.
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