US Submarine Sinks Iranian Frigate; Sri Lanka Navy Finds 87 Bodies
An American submarine has sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka. The torpedo strikes killed at least 87 sailors and left dozens missing.
According to AFP, on Wednesday (4 March 2026), the sinking occurred as a war triggered by a joint US-Israel attack on Iran continued to spread across the Middle East.
“An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought itself safe in international waters. Instead, the ship was sunk by a torpedo,” said US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to reporters in Washington.
He called the attack a “silent death” and the first enemy ship sunk by the US with a torpedo since World War II. “As in that war,” Hegseth said, “we fight to win.”
Sri Lankan Navy found 87 bodies of sailors from waters near the southern city of Galle, but 61 others are still missing, police and defence officials said. “Searches are ongoing for the others,” an unnamed naval official told AFP.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said Sri Lankan forces had rescued 32 sailors, many of whom were injured, from the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which had sustained damage.
The rescued sailors were being treated in Galle, where an AFP photographer saw the first waves of more than two dozen bodies being transported to hospital on Wednesday night.
The warship had sent distress calls at dawn but had sunk completely by the time rescue ships reached the area within an hour, leaving only an oil slick on the surface, Sri Lanka Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said.
The warship had been sailing after reportedly taking part in military exercises at Visakhapatnam port in eastern India. The strike occurred only 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Galle, local navy said.
Iran has not commented on the sinking. Tehran’s ambassador to Colombo, Alireza Delkhosh, could not be reached for comment. Sampath said Sri Lanka’s response to the distress calls was in line with its maritime duties.
“This lies within our search and rescue area in the Indian Ocean,” Sampath told AFP.
Sri Lanka remains neutral and has repeatedly urged dialogue to resolve the conflict in the Middle East. More than one million Sri Lankans work in the region, and they are a major source of foreign exchange for a country that has only recently recovered from its worst economic crisis in 2022.
Both the Sri Lankan navy and air force said they would not release footage of the rescue as it involves another country’s military. Police increased security outside the hospital in Galle as injured Iranian nationals were brought there.