US submarine sank Iran’s warship off Sri Lanka coast, says Hegseth

Sri Lanka says it recovered several bodies and rescued 32 wounded sailors after the frigate sank just outside the island’s territorial waters.Published On 4 Mar 2026|Updated: an hour agoA ⁠United States submarine has sunk an Iranian warship with a torpedo in international waters off Sri Lanka’s coast, says US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.In a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, Hegseth said the strike on the Iranian warship was the “first such attack on an enemy since World War II”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Iran postpones Khamenei’s farewell as Israel threatens to kill successorlist 2 of 4Hundreds of drones target Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE amid Iran warlist 3 of 4‘We were just praying’: Pakistani students recount escape from war-hit Iranlist 4 of 4How Iran fights an imposed warend of listSri Lanka’s government said it recovered several bodies and rescued 32 wounded sailors after an Iranian military ship sank just outside the island’s territorial waters.The country’s deputy ⁠foreign minister ⁠told local ⁠television that ⁠at least 80 ⁠people were killed ⁠in the strike.Authorities told Al Jazeera the frigate IRIS Dena, located about 40 nautical miles (75km) off Galle in southern Sri Lanka, sent out a distress call between 6am and 7am (00:30 to 01:30 GMT) on Wednesday.The ship had about 180 crew members on board, and a search and rescue operation was under way, Sri Lankan officials said.The Iranian frigate was returning from having taken part in the 2026 International Fleet Review last month in eastern India’s coastal city of Vishakapatnam.Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that the navy received information that the ship was in distress and the government sent ships and air force planes on a rescue mission.A Sri Lankan navy spokesperson said no other ship or aircraft was observed in the area where the Iranian warship sank.Sri Lankan Air Force spokesman Group Captain Nalin Wewakumbura speaks during a news conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 4, 2026 [Akila Jayawardena/Reuters]Reporting from outside a hospital in Galle, where the wounded crew members were taken, Al Jazeera’s Minnelle Fernandez said Sri Lankan officials were still trying to figure out what happened to the nearly 150 other crew members.