The target was the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, a warship equipped with heavy artillery, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, torpedoes and the capacity to operate a helicopter.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
A US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday, describing the strike as the first time since World War II that the United States has destroyed an enemy vessel using a torpedo.
The target was the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, a warship equipped with heavy artillery, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, torpedoes and the capacity to operate a helicopter. The vessel carried a crew of about 180 sailors.
“An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo,” Hegseth told reporters at a press briefing.
Calling the strike a “quiet death,” the defense secretary said the action marked the first US torpedo sinking of an opposing naval ship since World War II. “Like in that war, we are fighting to win,” he said.
Sri Lankan authorities said the vessel issued a distress signal shortly after dawn before going down roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the island. The sinking occurred just outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters.
Sources within Sri Lanka’s navy and defense ministry told Reuters that at least one sailor was confirmed dead, 78 others were wounded and 101 crew members remained missing.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said the country’s navy mounted a rescue mission after receiving the distress call. Two naval vessels and a military aircraft were deployed to the scene and recovered 32 severely injured Iranian sailors from the water.
A navy spokesman later told Reuters that the figure of 101 missing crew members was inaccurate, saying the operation had instead rescued 32 injured sailors.
Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said the rescued personnel were taken to the main hospital in Galle, about 115 kilometers (70 miles) south of Colombo, where police increased security as the wounded arrived.
“We responded to the distress call under our international obligations, as this is within our search and rescue area in the Indian Ocean,” Sampath told AFP.
Sri Lankan defense officials said search operations were continuing for additional crew members after the frigate sank.
Earlier Wednesday, the US military reported destroying 17 Iranian vessels as part of the campaign and said its objective was sinking “the entire navy.” The Israel Defense Forces said the American military had assumed full responsibility for strikes against Iran’s maritime activity.
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