New Delhi has rejected claims that its ports or facilities were used in the strike and says it remains neutral while monitoring the situation
The ongoing conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel entered a dramatic new phase on Wednesday when a US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. The incident took place off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, drawing attention in New Delhi as the fighting appears to be moving closer to India’s maritime neighbourhood.
The Iranian frigate Iris Dena was destroyed early Wednesday morning in what analysts describe as a significant naval escalation in the expanding confrontation. While the strike has sparked debate about its implications for India’s security environment, officials and experts say New Delhi has so far maintained a cautious and balanced approach as tensions shift towards the Indian Ocean region.
The Iranian warship reportedly carried around 180 crewmembers. Sri Lankan authorities later said that 87 bodies were recovered while several sailors were rescued and taken to hospital in the southern port city of Galle.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath said coastguards received a distress call early Wednesday morning. “By 6 am, we dispatched a naval vessel, and by 7 am, the second naval vessel,” Herath said.
Sri Lanka said its response was carried out under its obligations as a signatory to the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue. Naval spokesman Budhika Sampath said rescue teams initially arrived at the coordinates but did not immediately see any vessel.
“Though the ship’s location was beyond our waters, it was within our search and rescue region. So we were obliged to respond as per international obligations,” Sampath said.
The presence of an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean has raised questions among analysts about why the vessel was operating far from its usual patrol areas. Iris Dena was one of the newer frigates in Iran’s navy and part of the country’s southern fleet, which typically operates in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. The vessel was equipped with surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, torpedo launchers and a helicopter landing pad.
In the weeks before the conflict intensified, the frigate had been participating in diplomatic naval engagements in the region. It took part in the International Fleet Review and the Milan-2026 naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy in February. The multilateral exercise brought together more than 85 ships from 74 countries and aimed to strengthen maritime cooperation and professional interaction between participating navies.
Following the fleet review on February 18, the Iranian warship also docked at Visakhapatnam on February 20. Residents in the city told The Hindu that crew members had interacted with civilians during their visit. Some sailors were seen taking photographs with locals and visiting shopping centres before the ship departed.
The sinking of the Iranian warship near Sri Lanka has triggered debate among Indian strategic analysts about the broader implications of the conflict. Former Indian Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash criticised the escalation and warned that the conflict is moving closer to India’s maritime neighbourhood.
“Sinking of Iranian warship, off southern tip of Sri Lanka, with heavy loss of life is a senseless & inflammatory act. Initiating another dimension of violence in this open-ended conflict will spread alarm across the high seas and disrupt global seaborne commerce. Condemnable!” Prakash wrote on X.
He later said the episode demonstrates how close the conflict has come to India. “The sinking of the Iranian warship shows the Iran-US-Israel war has come to our doorstep,” he said. At the same time, some observers noted that the incident occurred in international waters and does not directly involve Indian territory.
As speculation spread about whether the United States may have used Indian facilities in the region to support operations against Iran, the Indian government moved quickly to reject such claims. Indian officials dismissed suggestions that US naval forces used Indian ports to launch or support strikes on Iranian targets. Officials described the claims as “baseless” and reiterated that India has not allowed its ports or infrastructure to be used for military operations linked to the conflict.
