A US submarine sank an Iranian frigate off the southern coast of Sri Lanka late on Tuesday, killing at least 87 sailors. The Iris Dena was struck by a Mark 48 heavyweight torpedo while sailing in international waters, returning from a naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the attack, describing it as the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since the Second World War. He said the vessel was targeted because it thought it was safe in international waters.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath said coastguards received a distress call on Wednesday morning. Two naval vessels were dispatched, rescuing 32 crew members. The frigate, which carried an estimated 180 crew, had already sunk by the time rescuers arrived, leaving only an oil slick.
The strike occurred 44 nautical miles off Galle, within Sri Lanka’s economic zone but outside its territorial waters. It came as US-Israeli air assaults on Iran continued for a fifth day, with Washington warning of strikes on deeper targets. Turkey reported that Nato air defences intercepted an Iranian missile headed toward its airspace, while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained paralysed.
Wes Bryant, a former US air force targeting expert, said the attack was illegal because the warship was not posing an imminent threat. He questioned whether the US was now treating all of Iran’s government and military as a threat.
