TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - At least 87 people have been killed and dozens are still missing after a U.S. submarine fired a torpedo at an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka near the Indian Ocean, officials said on Wednesday.
U.S. Defense Minister Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, admitted that the U.S. submarine had sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
"An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters," Hegseth said in a press conference regarding the military operation against Iran, as reported by Sputnik and quoted by Antara.
He continued, "In fact, last night we sunk their prize ship, the Soleimani."
Hegseth referred to the attack as a "quiet death" and the first sinking of an enemy ship by the U.S. with a torpedo since World War II.
"Like in that war," he said as reported by France24, "We are fighting to win."
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath on Wednesday, confirmed that its navy and air force had assisted in evacuating the crew from the sunken Iranian ship in the Indian Ocean, with 32 casualties evacuated to hospitals in Sri Lanka.
"By 6 am we dispatched a naval vessel and by 7 am the second naval vessel," Herath said, while ensuring that the Sri Lankan navy and air force units worked together in the rescue operation.
The frigate ship sent a distress signal early Wednesday, and in less than an hour, a rescue ship reached the area about 40 kilometers south of the southern port of Galle, the minister said.
The frigate ship had completely sunk, and only an oil slick remained when the navy rescue ship approached.
"We are keeping up a search, but we don't know yet what happened to the rest of the crew," a Sri Lankan defense official said.
Citing sources in the Sri Lankan defense ministry, at least 87 Iranian sailors' bodies were found, and 61 others were 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 5:08 AM local time by Sri Lanka indicating that the Iranian navy ship named the IRIS Dena had sunk outside the Sri Lankan waters in the Indian Ocean.
About 180 crew members were on the warship that was targeted by the U.S. submarine, with 30 of them in critical condition, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister said.
He explained that according to the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) 1979 ratified by Sri Lanka, his country was obligated to assist ships facing emergencies.
Sri Lanka must respond to maritime emergencies regardless of nationality, cause, and location of the incident, he said.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath confirmed that the SAR operation is still ongoing.
"We found people floating in the water and rescued them. Later on, we found upon inquiring that they belonged to the Iranian ship," Sampath said in a press conference, as quoted by Newswire.
"We swiftly transferred them to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, where they are undergoing treatment," he said.
He said that when Sri Lanka Navy personnel arrived at the scene after responding to the distress signal, the Iranian ship in question was not known to be present, and only the oil spill was visible.
The ship carried around 180 crew and was returning after participating in the International Fleet Review 2026 last month in the coastal city of Vishakapatnam, eastern India.
The ship was armed, and the majority of the crew were non-combat personnel.
The sinking of the warship occurred as the U.S. and Israel conducted airstrikes against Iran for the fifth day after killing the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and nearly 800 others, including dozens of schoolgirls.
Tehran responded with drone and missile attacks on Israel and U.S.-related assets in Gulf countries, resulting in numerous casualties. Six U.S. military personnel have been killed, and many others have been injured.
Read: NATO Intercepts Iranian Ballistic Missile Headed for Turkey
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