An injured Iranian sailor is moved on a stretcher at Galle National Hospital, where the sailors are receiving treatment, following a submarine attack on the Iranian military ship, IRIS Dena, off the coast of Sri Lanka, in Galle, Sri Lanka
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REUTERS
The Indian Navy convened its assets to commence long-range maritime patrol by aircrafts to aid Sri Lanka’s rescue mission besides INS Tarangini deployed in the vicinity of the accident site was turned for SAR operation but by that time Sri Lankan navy and other agencies had began the humanitarian exercise to help personnel on board Dena.
“A distress call from IRIS Dena was received at the MRCC Colombo in the early hours of 04 March 26 as reported by the Sri Lankan Navy. The ship was operating 20 NM West of Galle in the SAR region under Sri Lankan responsibility. On receipt of the information, the Indian Navy promptly launched its SAR efforts commencing with a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at 1000 hr (10 am) on March 4 to augment the search efforts led by Sri Lanka,” Indian Navy said in a statement on Thursday evening.
“Another aircraft with air droppable life rafts was also kept standby for immediate deployment. INS Tarangini which was operating in vicinity was deployed for aiding the rescue efforts and arrived in search area by 1600 hr ( 4 pm) on March 4. By this time SAR had been undertaken by Sri Lankan Navy and other agencies. INS Ikshak has also sailed from Kochi to augment the search efforts and continues to remain in the area to search for missing personnel as a humanitarian measure for ship wrecked personnel” the statement read.
The Indian Navy continues to coordinate with the Sri Lankan side on the ongoing search and rescue efforts .
Inflammatory act
The US submarine sank the Iranian warship on return from multilateral exercise Milan 2026 and international fleet review at Visakhapatnam last month. Experts, however, have condemned the Trump administration’s “senseless and inflammatory act” and demanded that New Delhi should demonstrate “strategic autonomy”.
Former Indian Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash in a series of social media posts condemned sinking of Iranian warship, off southern tip of Sri Lanka, with heavy loss of life. He also stated that it’s a senseless & inflammatory act which is like demonstrating another dimension of violence in this open-ended conflict that will have bearing across the high seas & disrupt global seaborne commerce.
Prakash, who served as the chief of Naval Staff from 2004-2006 and was also Chiefs of Staff Committee, also had a word of caution for the NDA government as he candidly stated that “India’s policymakers at this juncture, need to demonstrate that our “Strategic Autonomy” remains ethically moored-despite external pressures- while retaining pragmatic ‘realism’”.
“We must not let opportunistic policies, for transient gains, erode our Leadership of Global South,” he also wrote on X.
In a long thread on X, Brahma Chellaney, strategic thinker and author, too was critical and raised uncomfortable questions over the US torpedoing of the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in what he stated “India’s maritime backyard”. He dubbed the event as “more than a battlefield” and “a strategic embarrassment for New Delhi.”
“The ship had just participated in India’s flagship MILAN-2026 naval exercise, where, along with 18 other foreign warships, it sailed as a diplomatic guest of the Indian Navy. By sinking a vessel returning from an Indian-hosted multilateral exercise, Washington effectively turned India’s maritime neighborhood into a war zone, raising uncomfortable questions about India’s authority in its own backyard,” he said, seconding strategic autonomy issue raised by former Indian Navy chief.
According to him, in diplomatic terms, the strike violated the unwritten code of naval hospitality. The message to participating navies is stark: attending India’s exercises may not guarantee safety once they sail away, he wrote.
“The implications go deeper. Prime Minister Modi’s MAHASAGAR vision — positioning India as the Indian Ocean’s “preferred security partner” — rests on the idea that New Delhi can convene cooperation and maintain stability in the region,” Prakash critically observed.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi pointed out that Dena, a “guest of the Indian Navy”, was struck “without warning” while in a non-combat posture as Navy personnel were unarmed.
Iranian Ambassador to India, Dr Mohammad Fathali described US attack as an “assassination” and vowed to respond to it very strongly.
Published on March 5, 2026