Tehran (TDI): Writing in a post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said that the United States will “bitterly regret” targeting Iranian Frigate Dena, and that it has “perpetrated an atrocity at sea.”
This statement, surfacing Thursday morning, is Tehran’s first open admission of the incident that happened on Wednesday, roughly 40 nautical miles off the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
The Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, returning from India and carrying 180 crew members, sent out a distress call from international waters. It sank before rescue teams could reach it.
The cause was a single Mark 48 torpedo fired from a United States Navy fast-attack submarine. The Pentagon confirmed the strike the same day.
“The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning,” the Iranian FM said.
The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores.
Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning.
Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set. pic.twitter.com/cxYiI9BLUk
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 5, 2026
Read More: US Submarine Sinks Iranian Warship: Here’s Why It Matters
As this statement surfaces, both Iran and Israel launched a fresh wave of strikes on each other, Thursday morning. Israel announced an incoming barrage of missiles as alarms sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem; meanwhile United States and Israel continue to bombard Tehran.
The death toll in Iran has reached 1045 since Saturday, when the first US-Israel attacks took place across multiple locations in Iran. Iran also continued attacks on US bases across Gulf on Thursday while the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that it attacked a US tanker in northern Gulf this morning.
“We had previously said that, based on international laws and resolutions, in times of war, the Islamic Republic of Iran will have the right to control the passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” IRGC said about the attack, and warned that any tanker from US, Israel or any other allied European country will not be allowed to pass.
