March 5, 2026 — SUNTV Global Channel
At least 87 sailors have been confirmed dead after a United States submarine sank an Iranian naval warship in waters near Sri Lanka, marking a dramatic escalation in the ongoing confrontation involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.
According to officials, the Iranian vessel — the IRIS Dena — was struck by a torpedo early Wednesday while returning from an international naval exercise in India. The warship reportedly sank about 40 nautical miles off the coastal city of Galle after issuing a distress signal around 5:30 a.m. local time.
During a briefing at the United States Department of Defense, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike, describing it as a historic moment in modern naval warfare.
“An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death.”
Sri Lankan rescue teams quickly responded to the emergency call. Officials reported that 87 bodies were recovered and brought ashore, while 32 injured sailors were rescued from the sea. Around 60 crew members remain missing from the estimated 180 personnel believed to have been aboard the vessel.
The wounded sailors were transported to Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, the largest medical facility in the region, where emergency services were placed on high alert.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath confirmed that the warship sank just outside the country’s territorial waters but within Sri Lanka’s designated maritime search-and-rescue zone. The Sri Lankan Navy deployed two naval vessels and a surveillance aircraft to assist in the rescue operation.
Iran strongly condemned the attack. In a statement posted on social media, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi described the incident as a “maritime atrocity,” saying the warship had been operating in international waters.
“The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores,” Araghchi said, warning that Washington would “bitterly regret the precedent it has set.”
The IRIS Dena had recently participated in the MILAN-2026 multinational naval exercise and the International Fleet Review hosted by the Indian Navy in the port city of Visakhapatnam.
Military analysts say the attack may have been carried out by a U.S. Navy submarine operating from the American base on Diego Garcia, where strategic submarines regularly patrol critical maritime routes.
The frigate, named after Mount Dena in southwestern Iran, was a domestically built warship equipped with anti-ship missiles, torpedo launchers, a 76-millimetre naval gun, advanced radar systems, and a helicopter landing deck.
According to Dan Caine, the strike marks the first time since World War II that a U.S. fast-attack submarine has sunk an enemy combatant ship using a torpedo.
“This is the first confirmed case since 1945 where a U.S. Navy submarine destroyed an enemy warship with a single Mk-48 torpedo,” he said.
The incident has also stirred political debate in India. Congress Party spokesperson Pawan Khera questioned India’s regional influence after the Iranian vessel — which had been invited to the naval event — was destroyed near Sri Lankan waters shortly after leaving the exercise.
Sri Lanka, located along one of the world’s busiest maritime trade corridors linking Asia, the Middle East and Europe, has maintained neutrality in international conflicts despite increasing naval activity in the region.
The sinking of the Iranian warship is expected to further intensify geopolitical tensions across the Middle East and the Indian Ocean.
Reporting by SUNTV Global Channel.
