A U.S. Navy submarine torpedoed and sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Galle, leaving dozens of crew members dead. According to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the attack occurred in international waters south of Sri Lanka on Tuesday. A U.S. submarine fired a heavy torpedo that detonated beneath the frigate’s stern, lifting the vessel out of the water and breaking its keel before it quickly sank.
Video released by the United States Department of War shows the explosion tearing through the rear section of the warship. According to Hegseth, the strike marked the first time an American submarine has sunk an enemy vessel with a torpedo in combat since the end of World War II.
Sri Lankan rescue teams responding to a distress call reached the scene about 40 kilometers south of the coast near Galle. When the first vessels arrived, they reportedly found only an oil slick, floating debris, life rafts, and sailors in the water.
Authorities say at least 80–87 bodies have been recovered so far, while 32 survivors were rescued and transported to a hospital in Galle for treatment. Approximately 180 crew members were on board the frigate at the time of the incident, and many still unaccounted for.
Commissioned in 2021, the frigate IRIS Dena was considered one of the most modern combatants in the Iranian Navy. The ship had recently participated in the international naval exercise in Visakhapatnam, India, and was heading back to Iran.
Iran strongly condemned the attack. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US had “perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores”.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan authorities confirmed that a second Iranian warship was approaching the island’s waters. Officials said the ship has more than 100 crew members on board and requested permission to enter Sri Lankan territorial waters for safety. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake convened senior officials to discuss the request as the situation developed.
Despite the incident occurring outside its territorial waters, Sri Lanka has continued to search for missing sailors.
The sinking significantly broadens the geographical scope of the current conflict. The attack took place thousands of miles from the primary hostilities in the Middle East, within the area typically overseen by United States Indo-Pacific Command rather than the Middle Eastern theater.
