Iran Confirms 104 Naval Personnel Dead After US Sinks Warship
Iran’s military has confirmed that at least 104 crew members of its warship died following a US submarine torpedo attack off the coast of Sri Lanka last week.
A further 32 crew members sustained injuries in the attack, which occurred thousands of kilometres from Iranian shores. This statement was made by Iran’s military as reported by Reuters on Monday, 9 March 2026.
The Iranian frigate IRIS Dena sank in the Indian Ocean, approximately 19 nautical miles from the port city of Galle in southern Sri Lanka, on Wednesday, 4 March last week. The warship was struck by a torpedo launched from a US submarine as the two nations engaged in intense conflict.
The US attack occurred whilst the Iranian warship was sailing after participating in military exercises at the port of Visakhapatnam in eastern India.
Thirty-two Iranian naval crew members were rescued by Sri Lanka’s Navy, with dozens of bodies of the warship’s crew evacuated from the ocean by Colombo.
Sri Lanka Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath stated that the Iranian warship transmitted a distress signal at dawn, but had completely sunk when rescue vessels reached the area within an hour, leaving only an oil slick on the water’s surface.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth previously announced that a US submarine had sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, specifically off Sri Lanka’s coast. Hegseth described the attack as a “silent death”.
“An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that believed they were safe in international waters. However, the vessel was instead sunk by a torpedo,” he stated.
Iran’s military has vowed to retaliate against the US attack that sank its warship. Tehran has branded the Washington strike a “cowardly assault”.
“The cowardly assault against the destroyer Dena, approximately 2,000 miles from the conflict zone, which resulted in the death of young cadets returning from the Milan 2026 peace exercises, demonstrates that global arrogance does not respect any international rules,” Iran’s military said in its condemnation.
Iran’s military warned that the deaths of the young cadets would strengthen their resolve to seek retaliation.
“The death of these beloved young martyrs will only strengthen the determination of the great Iranian nation and Islamic fighters to avenge the sacred blood of their comrades,” the Iranian military statement emphasised.