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Iran says US struck its ship Iris Dena, 'guest of Indian Navy', without warning
Iran issued a warning to the US, saying it would “bitterly regret” the move against the Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday.
Iran has lashed out at the US for sinking its warship ‘Iris Dena’ in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi alleged that the ship, “a guest of the Indian Navy”, was struck without warning by the US.
He also issued a warning to the US, saying it would “bitterly regret” the move against the Iranian warship.
“Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning…Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set,” the Iranian minister wrote on X, in the country's first reaction to the sinking of the ship.
Follow live updates on the US-Iran conflict here.
Iris Dena's sinking further intensified the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran that has also raked up a storm in other Middle Eastern countries. According to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, this is believed to be the first sinking of a ship by torpedo by the US in the Indian Ocean since World War 2.
What India said on Iranian ship sinking
At least 87 people were killed as a US submarine torpedoed the Iranian vessel that had taken part in the International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh and the Milan 2026 multi-nation exercise, just a few days ago.
However, people familiar with the matter told HT that the ship was torpedoed outside India’s territorial waters after it had completed its participation in the exercise.
While an official reaction from India is awaited, government sources have told HT that the ship and its crew were “guests of India" only till February 25 and sought no help from the country after the US-Iran conflict escalated last week.
Meanwhile, the government has rejected a viral claim that the US Navy were using Indian ports for its targeting of Iran. “Claims being made on OAN, a US based channel that Indian ports are being used by the US Navy are fake and false," the ministry of external affairs' fact-checking unit said in a post on Wednesday.
The clarification came in response to a claim by retired US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor, who said that the US was “falling back on Indian ports”, now that its bases in the Middle East were “destroyed” in the Iranian strikes.
US-Iran conflict rakes up global storm
The US and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran over the weekend, which also led to the killing of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The conflict spilt over to other parts of the Middle East, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and the UAE as Tehran began to target US bases and consulates in the respective countries.
Amid the ongoing conflict, India has called for dialogue and diplomacy, emphasising the need to secure the interests of nearly 10 million Indians living in West Asia.
