NEW DELHI, March 5 — A group of Iranian sailors participated in a multinational naval event in India last month. Now, most of them are dead.
The sinking of the Iranian naval ship IRIS Dena in international waters, about 40 kilometres off the coast of Galle in Sri Lanka on Wednesday, by the United States (US) Navy has sparked widespread shock and outrage.
While many in India feel embarrassed that 180 Iranian sailors, invited by their country to take part in the International Fleet Review (IFR) and Exercise Milan 2026 in Visakhapatnam, met such a fate, Sri Lankans are uneasy that it occurred too close to their coast.
The Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command, in a social media post on Feb 17, described IRIS Dena’s participation in the drills as a reflection of “long-standing cultural links between the two nations,” while Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi also met with Iran’s navy commander, Admiral Shahram Irani.
The US was among the countries that sent ships, aircraft and observers to participate in the naval exercises held from Feb 15 to 25.
The Iranian ship was heading home after the drills when it was torpedoed by a US submarine in the Indian Ocean.
Sri Lanka dispatched aircraft and ships on a rescue mission after the Iranian vessel sent a distress call.
When the Sri Lankan navy responders reached the location, they found no sign of the ship and “only some oil patches and life rafts,” Commander Buddhika Sampath told the media.
At least 87 bodies were recovered, 32 personnel were rescued, and dozens remained unaccounted for, according to reports, citing Sri Lankan officials.
Indians commenting on social media highlighted that the Iranian vessel was a “guest” and had been given a ceremonial send-off.
“In a huge offence to India, the US sank Iran’s IRIS Dena at the edge of Indian waters near Sri Lanka,” Supriya Shrinate, a Congress party spokeswoman, said on the social media platform X.
Some commentators also raised concerns over the US submarine operating near Indian waters at the time.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, on Wednesday, spoke unapologetically about the incident while briefing the media on the ongoing US-Israeli attacks against Iran.
He said the vessel was attacked with a torpedo called “Quiet Death” and was “the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo” by the US since World War II.
Some questioned the way the US acted, while others viewed it as a sign of US brazenness.
The action crossed a line as the ship was passing “through what is not an active war zone and definitely an area of India’s influence”, said Sushant Singh, a lecturer at Yale University on the social media platform X.
Sri Lankans, meanwhile, praised their navy’s search-and-rescue operation.
“Proud that the Sri Lanka Navy immediately answered to the distress call made by the Iranian vessel and saved as many Iranian soldiers as possible,” Jamila Husain, editor of Daily Mirror, said on the social media platform X.
