Sailor On Iranian Warship Iris Dena Told Father US Warned Crew Twice Before Torpedo Attack: Report

New Delhi:  An Iranian sailor aboard the warship IRIS Dena provided a fresh account of the moments preceding the US submarine attack near Sri Lanka.  

According to a report by Iran International, the sailor, in a communication to his father, claimed that US forces had issued two warnings to the crew, instructing them to abandon the Iranian warship before the strike occurred.

What did Tehran claim?

It must be noted that this new account directly contradicts Tehran’s initial claim that the vessel was hit without any prior notice. 

Previously, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi had denounced the strike as an "atrocity at sea," maintaining that the frigate was targeted in international waters without any warning from US forces.

The report further claims that the warship's commander allegedly refused to let the crew abandon the vessel despite the immediate danger, leading to reported arguments between the commander and his subordinates in the moments before the strike, as per the report.

How Iris Dena torpedoed

On the morning of March 4, a US submarine torpedoed and sank the IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, approximately 19 nautical miles off the coast of Galle, Sri Lanka. 

Of the estimated 180 personnel on board, 87 bodies have since been recovered by search teams and 32 sailors were rescued, as per Associated Press.

When the Sri Lankan Navy arrived at the scene in response to the ship's distress call, the vessel had already vanished beneath the surface, leaving behind only an oil slick, abandoned life rafts, and sailors struggling in the water.

Describing it as a “quiet death" and noting it was the first time a US Navy submarine had sunk an enemy combatant since World War II, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike at the Pentagon.

“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon news briefing. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”

The sinking of the IRIS Dena illustrates a U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran that is stretching beyond its borders. U.S. President Donald Trump has said one of the key objectives of the war is to wipe out Iran’s navy.

IRIS Dena- one of Iran’s newest warships

The IRIS Dena, one of Iran’s newest warships, patrolled in deep water, and was armed with heavy guns, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. It carried one helicopter.

The ship had been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in February 2023, along with eight executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer that supplied weapons to Russia for use against civilian targets in Ukraine.

At least 17 Iranian naval vessels have been sunk during the ongoing war, said US Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads the American military’s Central Command.

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