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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that an American submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, marking a significant escalation in the expanding U.S. military campaign against Iran.
Speaking at a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth said the Iranian vessel “thought it was safe in international waters,” but “instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”
“America is winning, decisively, devastatingly and without mercy,” Hegseth said.
Although he did not name the ship, Sri Lankan officials said an Iranian naval vessel identified as the IRIS Dena sank early Wednesday outside the country’s territorial waters, off Sri Lanka’s southern coast.
Rescue Effort Off Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, Vijitha Herath, told Parliament that the ship, described as a destroyer, transmitted a distress signal at 5:08 a.m. local time. Sri Lankan authorities responded by dispatching naval vessels and air force units.
According to Herath, 32 critically injured sailors were rescued and transported to Karapitiya Hospital in the coastal city of Galle. A Sri Lankan navy spokesperson, Capt. Buddhika Sampath, said additional search-and-rescue operations were ongoing.
“We haven’t seen the ship, but observed oil patches and life craft,” Sampath told reporters, adding that bodies had been spotted floating near the site where the vessel went down.
Sri Lankan officials said the incident occurred in international waters, but the island nation intervened in accordance with its obligations under international maritime search-and-rescue agreements.
“We are signatories so we intervened on a humane basis as is our responsibility,” Herath told lawmakers.
Broader Conflict Intensifies
The sinking comes as Iran’s naval fleet faces sustained attacks following the launch of a joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign targeting Iran’s military and security infrastructure. Over the past several days, U.S. and Israeli forces have struck Iranian air defenses, missile launch sites, military airfields and command facilities.
The Indian Ocean strike signals a widening geographic scope of the conflict, extending well beyond the Persian Gulf.
Iranian authorities have not publicly detailed the extent of casualties from the sinking. Sri Lankan officials indicated that a crew of approximately 180 had been aboard the vessel when it went down.
The Pentagon did not immediately release additional operational details about the U.S. submarine involved or the timing of the strike.
