Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said it was the first sinking of enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II
A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who said it was the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.
“In the Indian Ocean, an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing this morning. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo—quiet death.”
The warship, the IRIS Dena, triggered a distress call to Sri Lanka’s navy, which rescued 32 “critically wounded” sailors from the wreckage. Authorities said the ship had over 180 people on board, according to the Associated Press.
The attack was part of the United States’ aim to “annihilate” Iran’s navy. The U.S. military has struck or sunk at least 20 Iranian naval vessels, according to U.S. Central Command.
“We are also sinking the Iranian navy—the entire navy,” Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, said Tuesday.
On Monday, President Donald Trump outlined the four main objectives of the campaign against the Islamic regime, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”
“First, we’re destroying Iran’s missile capabilities—and you see that happening on an hourly basis—and their capability to produce brand-new ones,” Trump said. “Second, we’re annihilating their navy. … Third, we’re ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies. … And finally, we’re ensuring that the world’s number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon.”