A United States Navy submarine has sunk an Iranian warship with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean, in what the US is calling its first torpedo sinking of an enemy ship since World War II, in a fast moving conflict between the US and Israel and Iran.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Pentagon briefing that the Iranian war vessel “thought it was safe in international waters” but was sunk by a torpedo in a “quiet death”.
Sri Lankan authorities said that search and rescue teams found at least 87 bodies and rescued 32 people after a distress call, and dozens more are believed to be missing from the estimated 180 strong crew.
Sri Lanka’s deputy foreign minister said that the war vessel sunk by the US submarine was its frigate IRIS Dena, and that the sinking happened outside Sri Lankan waters, south of the port city of Galle.
The Pentagon released footage that it claimed captured the moment of impact, showing a warship’s rear being torn apart by an explosion just before it started to sink.
Reuters stated that although the ship outline matched file imagery of the Dena, the timing of the footage could not be independently confirmed.
The attack also shifts the confrontation deeper into the Indo Pacific region.
According to Reuters, the Dena was on its way back to Iran after the vessel took part in a multilateral naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal, which was organized by India in late February.
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Hegseth described the attack as a “first in history since World War II,” but defence analysts said that the real difference is that it was an American submarine that torpedoed and sank an enemy vessel on the surface of the water, not that it was a first in history.
The attack also occurs as the conflict is escalating outside the Gulf region.
Associated Press reported that the strikes and counter strikes that took place before the latest attack were in areas around the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz.
Through which a significant proportion of the world’s oil is shipped, causing the price of oil to climb as a result of the attacks.
