The US–Iran conflict is far from contained. Its ripple effects are being felt in the region and beyond, reaching as far as Sri Lanka, where a US submarine attacked and sank an Iranian ship.
What happened?
At least 87 sailors were killed after a US submarine sank an Iranian naval vessel off Sri Lanka's southern coast, triggering a major rescue operation by Sri Lankan authorities.
The ship, IRIS Dena, which carried around 180 crew members, issued a distress call to the Sri Lanka Navy early Wednesday after it was attacked. The Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lanka Air Force launched a search-and-rescue mission under international maritime obligations, deploying naval vessels and aircraft to the area.
Rescued sailors were transported to Karapitiya Hospital in the city of Galle for treatment, said authorities, adding that operations were continuing to find additional survivors. Authorities say the incident has resulted in heavy casualties.
So far, 32 sailors have been rescued, and 87 bodies have been recovered. Many crew members remain missing.
Where was the ship headed?
IRIS Dena is said to have sunk in the “maritime trade zone” near Sri Lankan waters, 40 nautical miles (74km) from Galle port.
The ship had participated in an international naval fleet review and a multinational naval exercise organised by India, and was returning to Iran when it came under attack.
The Indian Navy last month hosted three major maritime events, including the International Fleet Review, the MILAN-2026, and the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium Conclave of Chiefs in Visakhapatnam between February 15 and 25.
The navies of 74 countries and 85 ships, including 19 foreign warships, participated in the events, including delegations from the US and Iran. Images from the joint navy drill exercises show the American and Iranian flags side by side in a group photo of sailors.
Navy
Sri Lanka Navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said at a media briefing that “there was no ship” at the site of the incident. The vessel's location was identified from a small oil slick.
Sri Lankan member of parliament and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said the attack on the Iranian warship within Sri Lanka's Exclusive Economic Zone is a “death blow” to the country's sovereignty. “The Exclusive Economic Zone is for economic activities. It is not for military action,” he said, according to local media.
While Sri Lanka has not named a perpetrator and said it was investigating the incident, the US claimed responsibility for the attack on the vessel. The Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday said that the US struck the vessel in international waters and without warning. “The US will bitterly regret the precedent it has set,” he warned.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the attack was the first such sinking since the Second World War. “An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” he said at the Pentagon.
“Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since the Second World War."
What is a torpedo?
The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Dan Caine said the US sank the ship “using a single MK-48 torpedo to achieve immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea”.
According to the US Navy, the MK 48 heavyweight torpedo is deployed by all classes of US submarines as aprimary anti-submarine and anti-surface weapon.
The heavyweight torpedo carries a 650-pound high-explosive warhead and is equipped with a sophisticated sonar guidance system.
The most recent version can use sonar to locate its target and dive to detonate underneath it, creating a large gas bubble that can snap the vessel's or keel and cause it to sink quickly.
What next?
Sri Lanka said it was trying to “safeguard lives” on a second Iranian ship off its coast on Thursday, one day after the US attack. Sri Lanka's cabinet spokesman told parliament that Colombo was aware of another Iranian ship in Sri Lanka's Exclusive Economic Zone.
“The President, defence officials, and all other relevant officials are aware and we are addressing the situation,” spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said. “We are doing our utmost to safeguard lives.”
