Iranian warship hit by US torpedo was 'defenceless', former Indian official claims
An Iranian warship destroyed in a US torpedo strike on Wednesday was "defenceless" after taking part in an international naval exercise as a guest of the Indian navy, a former Indian official has claimed.
Former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said in a post on X that "the Iranian ship will not be where it was if we had not invited it to talk [sic] part in our Milan exercise.
"The Iranian naval personnel had paraded before our president," he added.
The IRIS Dena, described as a destroyer, had taken part in an international naval exercise in India last month and was making its way back to Iran from Visakhapatnam, where the joint exercise ended on 25 February.
According to reports, the rules of the exercise stipulated that no ammunition was allowed on participating ships.
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Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Vijitha Herath, told the country's parliament that the vessel was sailing outside Sri Lanka's territorial waters on Wednesday when it sent a distress signal at 5:08 am local time.
Sri Lanka responded by sending naval ships and its air force to the endangered vessel. Around 87 bodies and 32 survivors were rescued, with some found to be "seriously injured," Herath said.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the sinking illustrated that the US-Israeli war on Iran was stretching beyond its borders.
The Iranian ship "thought it was safe in international waters," but "instead, it was sunk by a torpedo," Hegseth said.
"America is winning, decisively, devastatingly and without mercy," he added.
US President Trump has said one of the key objectives of the war is to wipe out Iran's navy.
Supriya Shrinate, an Indian MP and member of the opposition Congress Party, lamented the decision to carry out the attack, saying the Iranian navy "were our guests. Invited by us."
"[A] US submarine targeted their ship and killed them while they were returning home," she said on social media, before criticising Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his failure to issue a statement condemning the brazen strike.
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress Party, also decried the "silence" of Modi's government.
“The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing,” Gandhi wrote on X.
Iran's naval fleet has been under attack since Saturday when the US and Israel launched their war on the Islamic Republic.
According to the AFP news agency, a second Iranian ship, manned by more than 100 sailors, was reported to be on the outskirts of Sri Lanka’s territorial waters on Wednesday,
Its officers fear a similar attack and they have reportedly requested an urgent port call that has not yet received approval, according to Sri Lankan MP Namal Rajapaksa.
Iran has since warned of possible revenge, with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi saying,: "Mark my words: the US will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set".
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