Sri Lankan Navy Rescues Iranian Sailors After US Submarine Attack In Indian Ocean | Video

Last Updated:March 06, 2026, 13:23 IST

The Sri Lankan Navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors after a US submarine torpedoed the IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka, killing 87 on board.

A video circulating online captures the moment the Sri Lankan Navy rescued Iranian sailors, after a torpedo from a United States submarine sank the warship in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sri Lanka, killing 87 people on board.

Meanwhile, 32 survivors were rescued and taken to the hospital in Galle. Visuals showed the Navy personnel carrying the injured sailors on stretchers and rushing them to the hospital.

The warship, IRIS Dena, participated in a naval exercise in India just weeks ago. Confirming the attack, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described it as evidence of America’s global reach in its war on Iran.

“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo," Hegseth told reporters.

Hegseth called the attack “quiet death" and said it was the first US sinking of an enemy ship by torpedo since World War II.

“Like in that war. We are fighting to win", he stated.

Iran Vows Retaliation

Following the incident, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of committing “atrocity at sea" by sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean.

Araghchi said the warship, which he said was “a guest of India’s Navy" carrying nearly 130 sailors, was struck without warning by a US submarine in international waters.

The Iranian minister warned Washington would “bitterly regret the precedent it has set."

IRIS Dena participated in the International Fleet Review (IFR) in Vizag between February 16 to February 25. On February 28, the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes targeting multiple sites in Iran.

News world Sri Lankan Navy Rescues Iranian Sailors After US Submarine Attack In Indian Ocean | Video

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