Iran sailor warned family before US torpedo sank warship IRIS Dena: Report

Irna IRIS Dena

• US submarine sank Iranian warship Dena near Sri Lanka on March 4
• Commander refused evacuation; survivors defied orders to escape
• 87 bodies recovered; US urged Sri Lanka not to return survivors

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An Iranian sailor aboard the warship IRIS Dena called his father shortly before the vessel was struck by a US torpedo, saying American forces had issued two warnings for the crew to abandon the ship, a source close to the family told Iran International. The sailor was killed in the attack by a US submarine.

According to the source, the Dena’s commander refused to allow the crew to evacuate despite the imminent threat, leading to a tense standoff between him and members of the crew.

“Several sailors argued with the commander,” the source said, adding that the 32 crew members who survived were largely those who defied orders and reached the lifeboats on their own.

The US submarine torpedoed the Dena on the morning of March 4 in the Indian Ocean, about 19 nautical miles from the southern Sri Lankan port of Galle. Of the roughly 180 crew aboard, 87 bodies have been recovered. When the Sri Lanka Navy responded to the distress call, they found no trace of the ship, only an oil slick, empty life rafts and sailors floating in the water.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike at the Pentagon, describing it as a “quiet death” and noting it was the first time a US Navy submarine had sunk an enemy combatant since World War II.

The attack was carried out by the USS Charlotte, which fired Mark 48 torpedo, one of which struck the Dena’s stern and sank it within minutes.

The strike highlighted the widening geographic reach of the conflict with Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi noted that the ship was lost more than 3,000 km from Iran’s shores and that it had been a guest of the Indian Navy barely a week earlier while participating in the MILAN 2026 off Visakhapatnam.

An internal US State Department cable dated March 6, seen by Reuters, said Washington urged Sri Lankan authorities not to return the 32 surviving Dena sailors and the 208 sailors rescued from the Iranian naval auxiliary ship IRIS Booshehr.