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Fact-checking Pete Hegseth's claim: Was Iranian warship sinking a first torpedo kill since WWII?
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed a US submarine sank an Iranian warship with a torpedo, claiming it was the first since World War Two.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday confirmed that a US submarine had sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean using a torpedo. He asserted that this marked “the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two.”
“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth stated. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”
However, his claim seems to be incorrect, as per BBC.
In 1982, during the Falklands War, Argentina's sole cruiser, the General Belgrano, was sunk in the South Atlantic after being hit by two Tigerfish torpedoes launched from a British nuclear-powered submarine.
Additionally, another sinking took place in 1971 when the Indian frigate INS Khukri was torpedoed by a Pakistani submarine, external.
However, if verified, the sinking of the Iranian warship would mark the first instance since 1945 in which an American submarine has sunk an enemy vessel in this manner.
Later, Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, seems to elucidate Hegseth’s statement in the same briefing when he remarked that the attack that occurred was the first instance since 1945 in which an American submarine has sunk an enemy combatant vessel.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has released a footage capturing the exact moment a US torpedo hit an Iranian naval vessel in the Indian Ocean.
80 people dead as Iranian warship attacked
At least 80 people have lost their lives following an attack by a US submarine on an Iranian warship, according to officials.
Arun Hemachandra, the deputy foreign minister of Sri Lanka, confirmed that the incident occurred off the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
Vijitha Herath, the foreign minister, stated that there were 180 people aboard the Iris Dena, one of Iran's latest warships, when it sent out a distress signal at dawn approximately 25 miles south of the southern port of Galle. as per The Guardian. In response, Sri Lankan authorities have initiated a search and rescue operation to locate additional survivors.
The Iranian vessel had participated in a naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal from February 18 to February 25 and was returning to Iran from a port in eastern India when it was attacked, as reported by the AP news agency. The 'Milan' naval exercise, hosted by India, included an Iranian ship named 'IRIS Dena' as a participant, according to information available on its website.
