The sinking of an Iranian naval frigate by a US submarine, which left at least 87 sailors dead and dozens more missing in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka, has put India's government under the spotlight for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence regarding the attack.
The IRIS Dena had just participated in the International Fleet Review and Milan 2026 multilateral exercise, organised by the Indian Navy, in late February. It was on its way home when it was struck by a single Mark 48 heavyweight torpedo fired from a US Navy fast-attack submarine on Wednesday morning.
The vessel, which was carrying an estimated 182 crew members, sank about 40km off Sri Lanka’s coast near Galle in what the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described as a “quiet death”. At least 32 injured sailors were rescued by the Sri Lankan navy and air force after the ship sent distress calls.
The deadly strike in international waters on India's doorstep, on a vessel that media reports said was “unarmed”, has drawn sharp criticism of New Delhi, which plays a dominant role in securing navigation in the Indian Ocean.
“The Iranian ship will not be where it was if we had not invited it to take part in our Milan exercise. We were the hosts,” Kanwal Sibal, an Indian former diplomat, said on X. “The US has ignored India’s sensitivities as the ship was in these waters because of India’s invitation,” he said.
Iran’s ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, told reporters in the Indian capital on Thursday that there had been “no negotiations, no messages from India”, when asked whether New Delhi had been in touch with Tehran over the sunken ship. “You can ask them [India],” he added.
Mr Modi’s government was already facing sharp domestic criticism for its conspicuous silence following the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other top officials in renewed US and Israeli attacks on Saturday.
The Hindu nationalist leader had just returned from a visit to Israel, where he addressed the Knesset, saying: “India stands with Israel, firmly, with full conviction, in this moment and beyond.”
India and Israel have strengthened bilateral ties since Mr Modi first took office in 2014, particularly in defence co-operation and trade.
Mr Modi has personally called several leaders and extended support to Israel and Gulf nations that have faced retaliatory strikes from Iran this week, signalling a departure from New Delhi's tradition of remaining neutral and opposing violations of international law during global conflicts.
However, India’s Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, spoke to his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on Thursday. The call followed Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s visit to the Iranian embassy in New Delhi, where he signed the condolence book for Iran's late supreme leader on behalf of the Indian government.
“In the opening phase of the conflict, India was unusually silent, probably on account of a visible tilt towards one side. There might have been a naive belief in some quarters that this would be a swift operation like the capitulation in Venezuela,” Zorawar Daulet Singh, a foreign affairs analyst based in New Delhi, told The National.
“The determined resistance from Iran, however, has revealed the US has stumbled into another costly war with no apparent endgame,” he said.
New Delhi and Tehran share long-standing political, economic and cultural ties, with energy and connectivity forming the core of their relationship.
Iran was among India’s major crude oil suppliers before US sanctions forced New Delhi to halt purchases in 2019. India has also invested in the development of the Chabahar port in south-eastern Iran, seen as a gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia that bypasses its arch-rival Pakistan.
Many experts say New Delhi’s concern for the safety of millions of its nationals living in Arab Gulf states, which continue to face missile and drone attacks from Tehran, is shaping its immediate foreign policy, along with energy needs that could come under severe strain if the West Asia conflict continues.
“As the blowback spreads across the region and global economy, Indian policymakers are being reminded of some hard truths. In the coming days, India will adjust its posture to safeguard its energy security and the well-being of its large diaspora community. For India to look the other way is no longer a responsible posture,” Mr Singh said.
Sonia Gandhi, a veteran leader of India's main opposition Congress party, said in a newspaper opinion piece that Mr Modi’s silence is “not neutral” and “signals tacit endorsement of this tragedy”.
“When the targeted killing of a foreign leader draws no clear defence of sovereignty or international law from our country, and impartiality is abandoned, it raises serious doubts about the direction and credibility of our foreign policy. Silence, in this instance, is not neutral,” she wrote.
Ms Gandhi also questioned Mr Modi’s visit to Israel barely 48 hours before Mr Khamenei's assassination. “The unease is compounded by the timing,” she wrote.
Many commentators have drawn parallels with Mr Modi’s silence over US President Donald Trump’s alleged personal intervention in the India-Pakistan conflict in May last year.
Mr Trump said he had brokered a ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed nations – a claim India’s foreign ministry denied. Mr Modi, however, refrained from commenting directly on Mr Trump’s claims despite pressure from the opposition.
“India is paying a heavy price for Modi’s cowardice and possible blackmail,” Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer, said on X.
India and the US were also locked in a diplomatic tussle over India’s purchases of discounted Russian oil, which prompted Mr Trump to impose punitive tariffs on the South Asian nation.
The US removed the tariffs, following an interim trade deal with India last month, saying India had “committed to stop directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil” and would instead purchase “energy products from the United States”.
