Us Rejects Tehran’s ‘false’ Claim About Iranian Warship Sunk In Submarine Attack

The United States has rejected Iran’s claim that an Iranian warship was unarmed erstwhile it was sunk successful a submarine onslaught successful world waters off Sri Lanka connected March 4.

The United States Indo-Pacific Command offered a sharply different account, rejecting Tehran’s declare astir nan warship IRIS Dena arsenic Iranian officials insist it was operating successful a noncombat role successful nan Indian Ocean.

INDOPACOM labelled Iran’s assertion that nan alloy was unarmed “false” successful a connection connected X connected Sunday.

The consequence followed beardown objections from Tehran, which has many times characterized nan warship arsenic defenseless, saying it was returning location aft taking portion successful a naval exercise.

An Indian navy official, speaking connected information of anonymity because he was not authorized to little nan media, said nan Iranian alloy was not “entirely unarmed” and had taken portion successful drills alongside different countries’ warships.

Some experts have, however, suggested that visiting ships astatine specified events typically do not transportation a afloat combat load of unrecorded munitions unless scheduled for live-fire drills. They opportunity moreover during nan oversea shape of exercises, ships mostly transportation only tightly-controlled ammunition constricted to circumstantial drills.

Rahul Bedi, an independent defense expert based successful India, said nan alloy whitethorn person utilized immoderate constricted non-offensive ammunition during nan naval exercises, but protocol requires “the participating platforms to beryllium unarmed.”

“The precondition of participating successful specified a parade, aliases specified a ceremony, is that it (the vessel) comes unarmed. That is nan precondition of nan Indian Navy and it’s a precondition of astir navies erstwhile they clasp specified akin benignant of fleet reviews,” Bedi said.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said Friday that nan warship, sunk by a U.S. torpedo, had not been carrying weapons and accused Washington of targeting a ceremonial vessel.

“That alloy was by invitation of our Indian friends, attending an world exercise. It was ceremonial. It was unloaded. It was unarmed,” he told reporters successful New Delhi.

The IRIS Dena was sunk connected March 4 successful nan Indian Ocean adjacent Sri Lanka aft being struck by a torpedo fired from a U.S. submarine, according to American and Iranian officials. The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described nan IRIS Dena arsenic a “prize ship" and said it “died a quiet death." Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described nan onslaught arsenic “an atrocity astatine sea” and stressed that it had been “a impermanent of India’s Navy."

Disputes complete whether nan alloy was equipped person intensified tensions complete nan incident, which occurred arsenic it was returning from multinational naval exercises successful India, and raised questions astir whether it was operating successful a noncombat domiciled erstwhile it was attacked.

India’s defense ministry said successful a connection aft nan exercises that “live firings arsenic portion of aboveground weapon shoots, arsenic good arsenic anti-air firings, were besides undertaken” by participating vessels.

The warship’s sinking highlighted really nan U.S.-Israeli warfare pinch Iran is spreading beyond nan Middle East.

Two different Iranian vessels — nan IRIS Bushehr and IRIS Lavan — are docked successful Sri Lanka and India aft seeking assistance from nan 2 countries.