Highlights
- Sri Lanka's Navy and Air Force rescued 32 Iranian sailors after the warship IRIS Dena sank off the southern port district of Galle.
- US defence secretary Pete Hegseth claimed a US submarine torpedoed the Iranian warship in international waters.
- Several bodies were recovered near the distress signal location as Sri Lanka stepped up security around its Southern Command.
Sri Lanka's Navy and Air Force carried out a joint rescue operation, with the rescued sailors taken to the Navy's Southern Command headquarters before being admitted to Karapitiya Hospital in Galle.
Security around the Southern Command was subsequently stepped up. The cause of the sinking had not yet been established, Herath said.
The Iranian ship had recently participated in an international naval drill hosted by India, though there was no immediate comment from the Indian Navy.
US claims torpedo strike
In Washington, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth made a dramatic claim, telling reporters that a US submarine had sunk the Iranian warship in international waters describing it as the first sinking of an enemy vessel by torpedo since the Second World War.
"An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo," Hegseth said.
He added that the ship was named after former Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by US forces during Donald Trump's first term, saying: "I guess POTUS got him twice."
However Sri Lanka's Navy spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath categorically rejected media reports of a submarine attack, saying: "When our teams reached the scene, we observed a large oil slick, indicating that the ship had sunk."
He confirmed bodies were found near the distress signal location but said the exact number was not immediately available.
The Air Force confirmed no other vessels or aircraft were detected in the area. Herath said Sri Lanka was bound by international conventions on maritime rescue to assist anyone in distress, irrespective of the reason, and urged a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
PTI
