Iran Condemns US Attack On Warship Returning From India

Two days after a US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, Iran on Friday warned that the attack on an “unarmed ship cannot go with impunity.” The Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was returning home after participating in the Milan multilateral naval exercise hosted by India. At least 87 Iranian sailors were killed in the strike, marking a significant escalation in the conflict between the US and Iran beyond the Persian Gulf.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh, visiting India, stressed that the IRIS Dena was in a non-combat configuration, returning from the Milan exercises, and described the US action as a serious violation of international law.

“This is a very sad, very unfortunate incident. That vessel was by invitation of our Indian friends, attending an international exercise. It was ceremonial. It was unloaded. It was unarmed,” he said. “It is very unfortunate. Many of the young Iranian sailors who were attending these exercises lost their lives. It cannot go with impunity for those who actually did that,” he told reporters at the Raisina Dialogue.

IRIS Dena had participated in the Indian Navy’s premier multilateral maritime exercise Milan and was also featured in the International Fleet Review in Vishakapatnam last month.

Khatibzadeh also criticised the US over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, arguing that “cherry-picking” of international law cannot be acceptable.

“Unfortunately, principles of international law have been attacked, and we have to stand together against these atrocities. Americans have assassinated the head of another state. If it is the new norm, then nobody, no country on earth can actually have diplomatic normalisation with other countries,” he said.

He added that Tehran’s priority is to “exercise ultimate resistance against the aggressor.” “We are under attack, under invasion by Americans and Israelis, and they are trying to impose maximum damage to Iran. As we are speaking, my fellow citizens are under constant attack,” he said.

“Tehran is under constant attack, and we have no option but to resist to the last bullet that we do have and to the last soldier that we have. This is a very heroic, very nationalistic battle for us, and we have to stop the aggressor,” he added.

Regarding India’s stance on the crisis, Khatibzadeh highlighted the shared historical and civilisational ties: “Iran and India have all civilisational roots with each other. We are Indo-Persian culture and civilisation and it is very much in line with this cultural civilisational heritage, and we attach great importance to Iran-India relations,” he said.

He described Iran’s fight against the US and Israel as “resistance for the history, for the region, for the world, for the principles of international law.” “We are going to resist, and this is for the record of history. Iranians are sacrificing because rogue, reckless behaviour is happening against Iran. This is what we are doing. I think the moment they stop the aggression, we are going to have a new dynamism in the region,” he added.

The Iranian Supreme Leader was killed in an Israel-US strike on February 28. India on Thursday expressed condolences over Khamenei’s death amid criticism from opposition parties for its silence on both the assassination and the sinking of the Iranian ship by the US near Sri Lanka.

Following these events, Iran has carried out multiple attacks targeting Israeli and US military bases in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. In the past three days, the conflict has expanded significantly, with attacks and counterattacks on both sides, raising fears of a prolonged war in West Asia.