U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed that an American submarine sank an Iranian frigate in international waters off Sri Lanka on Wednesday morning, saying the action underlines U.S. reach as Washington expands operations against 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, describing the attack as a “quiet death.” He also said it was the first U.S. sinking of an enemy ship by torpedo since World War II.
Sri Lanka’s military said its navy conducted a rescue operation after the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena issued a distress call from about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the island, just outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lankan Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said the navy “responded to the distress call under our international obligations, as this is within our search and rescue area.” He added that when Sri Lankan vessels arrived the frigate had already sunk and only oil patches and life rafts remained, with survivors found floating in the water.
The IRIS Dena carried a crew of 180 sailors. Sri Lankan authorities reported rescuing 32 people, who were taken to a hospital in Galle, south of Colombo. Search operations continued, and Sri Lankan police later said they had recovered 87 bodies of Iranian sailors.
Sri Lankan officials initially withheld details about the cause of the sinking and denied early reports from unnamed sources that a submarine had been involved. Hegseth’s confirmation linked the incident directly to U.S. military action.
The IRIS Dena is a domestically built light frigate used by Iran for deep-water patrols. According to available descriptions, it is equipped with surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, and can carry one helicopter.
The sinking marks a notable escalation in maritime operations tied to the broader tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Questions remain about how other regional actors will respond and what additional steps the U.S., Iran and allies might take next.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko