‘Bit of treachery’: US attack on IRIS Dena undermines Indian security ties
Key Takeaways
- Distress call logged for a vessel near Galle, Sri Lanka, within rescue range.
- Sri Lanka Navy dispatched rescue boats; first on scene by 6am.
- The article portrays the US attack on IRIS Dena as undermining Indian security ties.
Sinking and casualties
It had taken under three minutes for Dena to sink after it was struck by the world’s most powerful torpedo, a Mark 48, launched by the US navy nuclear-powered submarine USS Charlotte lurking silently nearby.
“The distress call came in to Sri Lanka’s maritime rescue coordination centre just after 5am”
At least 84 people onboard were killed – their bodies were repatriated to Iran this week – in an attack that brought the US war on Iran to the Indian Ocean.
Invited for Visakhapatnam fleet review
Dena had been invited to the region by India, to take part in the pomp and splendour of an international fleet review in the eastern port of Visakhapatnam.
A routine event for the navies of the world to show off their ships and share training exercises, Iran was one of more than 70 countries that participated over the 10 days, alongside the US, Australia and Russia.
Three days later, the US and Israel began bombing Iran.
Regional reaction and implications
The attack on the warship left senior military figures and analysts in the region stunned, provoking fears that Donald Trump’s Middle East war will have wider ramifications for the geopolitically sensitive Indian Ocean region.
“The distress call came in to Sri Lanka’s maritime rescue coordination centre just after 5am”
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