In A First Since WWII, The US Torpedoed And Sank An Iranian Warship Off Sri Lanka, Killing 87
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that a US submarine had torpedoed the ship, calling the sinking "a quiet death."
On Wednesday, March 4, Iranian Navy warship the IRIS Dena, one of the most advanced ships in Iran's fleet, equipped with anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles and torpedo launchers, sent a distress call reporting an explosion.
The Dena was sailing back from a multinational naval exercise in India and was located roughly 75 kilometers off the southern coast of Sri Lanka when it sent the distress signal, but it sank within two to three minutes.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that a US submarine had torpedoed the ship, calling the sinking "a quiet death."
Footage released by the Pentagon showed the US submarine launching a torpedo striking beneath the stern of the Dena, lifting the vessel out of the water.
The Sri Lankan navy said it recovered the bodies of 87 crew members killed and rescued 32 people.
About 180 crew members had been on board, and more than 60 remain missing.
This was the first time a US Navy submarine sank an enemy ship since World War II.
The last time any submarine sank a warship in battle was 1982, when a British submarine sank an Argentine ship during the Falklands War.
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Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
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