US submarine sinks Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean
Washington/New Delhi — United States Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Wednesday confirmed that an American submarine had sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. ‘Yesterday in the Indian Ocean … the US submarine sank an Iranian warship that felt secure while in international waters,’ Hegseth said at a press briefing on the operation against Iran. He continued, ‘in fact, last night we also fired at their most valuable asset, namely the warship Soleimani.’
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath on Wednesday confirmed that the Sri Lankan navy and air force had assisted in evacuating the crew from the Iranian vessel that sank in the Indian Ocean, with about 30 casualties evacuated to hospitals in Sri Lanka. ‘We launched aid at 6am by sending the first naval vessel, and by 7am we had sent the second naval vessel,’ said FM Herath, while ensuring that Sri Lanka’s Navy and Air Force units were collaborating in the rescue operation.
According to Reuters, citing sources in the Sri Lankan defence ministry, at least 78 people were injured and 101 others went missing after an Iranian warship was attacked by a submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka. Herath said that an emergency signal was received at 5:08am local time by Sri Lanka, indicating that the Iranian naval vessel named IRIS Dena sank outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters in the Indian Ocean. There were 180 crew aboard the warship that was struck by the US submarine, and 30 of them were in a critical condition, the Sri Lankan foreign minister said.
He explained that under the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR Convention) ratified by Sri Lanka, the country is obliged to render aid to ships in distress regardless of nationality, cause, or location of the incident even if it is outside its territorial waters, he said.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath confirmed that the SAR operation was ongoing. ‘We found the victims floating at sea and rescued them. Then, after questioning the victims, we learned they were from the Iranian ship,’ Sampath said at a press conference, as quoted by Newswire. ‘We immediately evacuated them to Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, where they received medical care,’ he added.
He said that when Sri Lankan Navy personnel arrived at the scene after responding to the emergency signal, the Iranian ship in question was no longer located, and only an oil spill was seen.
Source: Sputnik
Translator: Nabil Ihsan