At least 87 Iranian sailors have been confirmed dead and dozens remain missing after a United States submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship in waters off Sri Lanka’s southern coast on Wednesday.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike, saying an American submarine targeted and sank the Iranian vessel in international waters. He described the operation as the first US sinking of an enemy ship by torpedo since World War II.
“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said, adding that the United States was “fighting to win.”
Sri Lankan authorities said the frigate, identified as the IRIS Dena, issued a distress signal at dawn before going down about 40 kilometres south of the port city of Galle.
According to Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, Vijitha Herath, local naval forces rescued 32 sailors, many of whom sustained injuries. The survivors were transported to the main hospital in Galle for treatment.
The Sri Lankan navy has so far recovered 87 bodies from the sea, while 61 crew members are still unaccounted for. Search-and-rescue operations are ongoing, with naval vessels and aircraft deployed to scour the area.
Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said Sri Lanka acted in line with its international maritime obligations, responding to the distress call within its designated search-and-rescue zone in the Indian Ocean. By the time rescue teams arrived, only debris and an oil slick marked the site where the vessel had sunk.
The Pentagon has stated that weakening Iran’s naval capacity is a central objective of the ongoing US-Israeli military campaign against Tehran.
Sri Lanka, which has maintained a neutral stance and repeatedly called for dialogue to ease Middle East tensions, declined to release images of the rescue operation, citing the involvement of a foreign military.
Security was tightened around the Galle hospital as injured sailors were admitted, while Iran’s ambassador in Colombo had not issued an immediate statement on the incident.
The sinking signals a dramatic escalation in regional hostilities and heightens concerns over maritime security in the Indian Ocean corridor.