Although the Iranians say ill-fated IRIS Dena was a 'guest of Indian Navy', authoritative sources confirmed to HT that the ship did not ask for any help after war was declared on February 28.
The Iranian warship, IRIS Dena, sent a distress signal to the Sri Lankan navy at 5:08am on March 4. (AP/AFP)
{{^htLoading}} {{/htLoading}}
IRIS Dena participated in the International Fleet Review (IFR) in Vizag from February 16 to February 25, the US-Israeli attack on Iran came on Feb 28.
This means that the ship was outside Indian territory and in international waters after leaving on Friday, February 25.
According to sources, the ship and its crew were Indian guests only from Feb 16 to Feb 25. Furthermore, the ship did not seek any help from India after that.
The IRIS Dena was hit on international waters by Virginia class SSN on Wednesday, March 4. The sinking, which Sri Lankan authorities say left at least 87 sailors dead while 32 survivors were rescued and taken to hospital in Galle.
{{^htLoading}} {{/htLoading}}
{{^usCountry}}
As rescue operations continue for dozens still missing, the incident has intensified hostilities across the Middle East, with Iran launching fresh attacks on Israeli and US bases while Israel says it has begun a “large-scale” wave of strikes targeting Tehran.
{{/usCountry}}
{{#usCountry}}
As rescue operations continue for dozens still missing, the incident has intensified hostilities across the Middle East, with Iran launching fresh attacks on Israeli and US bases while Israel says it has begun a “large-scale” wave of strikes targeting Tehran.
Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.
Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.
Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.
Home/India News/IRIS Dena was not 'India's guest' after leaving on Feb 25: Govt sources
{{^htLoading}}
Advertisement
{{/htLoading}}
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
{{#usCountry}}{{/usCountry}}
Hindustantimes wants to start sending you push notifications. Click allow to subscribe
