US submarine sinks Iranian submarine off Sri Lanka coast, at least 80 dead

At least 80 persons were killed after a United States submarine sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, Reuters quoted Sri Lanka’s deputy foreign minister as telling local television on Wednesday.

The US department of war has confirmed the attack that occurred off the coast of Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the ship was sunk by a torpedo. He said that this was the “first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II”.

.@SECWAR "Last night, we sunk their prize ship — the Soleimani. Looks like @POTUS got him twice." pic.twitter.com/vEX5MjpBs0— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 4, 2026

Later on Wednesday, the US department of war also released footage of the torpedo hitting the Iranian frigate, resulting in an explosion.

https://t.co/PiqQpVIrMu pic.twitter.com/Wc1e0B0um7— Department of War ?? (@DeptofWar) March 4, 2026

Sri Lanka on Wednesday rescued 32 “critically injured” sailors from the warship, AFP quoted the island country’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath as saying.

The Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, had a capacity of 180 crew members. The Daily Mirror had earlier reported that 101 persons were missing after the explosion.

The warship had attended an International Fleet Review , which was held from February 15 to February 20 in Vishakhapatnam, where it had been docked alongside ships from several other countries.

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