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Maritime exercise on Feb 16, attack on March 4: Timeline of IRIS Dena, hit by US torpedo
The Indian Navy welcomed Iranian vessel IRIS Dena on February 16 after it arrived in the country for the multilateral naval exercise, Milan 2026.
The United States on Wednesday sank an Iranian ship, ‘IRIS Dena’, in international waters off the coast of Sri Lanka. At least 87 sailors died, and 32 survivors were rescued by the Sri Lankan authorities. The vessel left India after taking part in the International fleet review just a few days ago.
Sources within the Indian government have confirmed that the warship and its crews were not their guest after it left on February 25.
A US submarine torpedoed and sank the Iranian frigate, with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirming the target. During a briefing, Hegseth told the media that an American submarine sank an Iranian warship, “that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo, a quiet death.”
Timeline of the sinking
The Indian Navy welcomed IRIS Dena on February 16 after it arrived in the country for the multilateral naval exercise, Milan 2026. The Eastern Naval Command, in a social media post, described it as a reflection of the long-standing cultural link" between India and Iran.
Also read: What led to the sinking of Iranian warship Iris Dena, headed back from India
The ship left India on February 28 and was outside the Indian territory at the time it was hit. Sources have also confirmed to HT that the ship did not ask for any help from India after the war was declared on February 28.
The US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, which also led to the death of its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Following this, Tehran began targeting US military bases across the Middle East.
As tensions escalated, the US, on March 4, torpedoed the Iranian ship off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Also read: IRIS Dena was not 'India's guest' after leaving on Feb 25: Govt sources
Sri Lanka's navy said that it received a distress signal from the ship at 5:08 am on March 4. The Iranian warship had 180 people on board.
Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, condemned the attack and said that IRIS Dena was hit “without warning.” In an X post, Araghchi added that “the US will bitterly regret the precedent it has set.”
The IRIS Dena was one of the newest warships of Iran. It was a Moudge-class frigate that patrolled deep in the water for the Iranian navy and was armed with heavy guns, missiles and torpedoes.
