US submarine sinks Iranian warship killing 80 with more than 100 missing

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed in a press conference that a US military submarine has torpedoed a warship from Iran in international waters. This attack sunk the vessel, resulting in the murder of at least 80 with “dozens more injured” off the coast of Sri Lanka.

More than 100 were earlier said to be missing following the attack.

Showing footage of the attack, Hegseth stated:

The Iranian navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf.

Notably, Hegseth also highlighted that this strike on Tuesday night was the first sinking by torpedo since WWII. It is important to note, this has been disputed and appears to be more indicative of the first struck by the US since the mass casualties of the Second World War.

A U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship in international waters, says U.S. defence secretary Pete Hegseth.

He says it's the "first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since the Second World War".

Iran latest 🔗 https://t.co/MSOfDN6aRq

📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/67JYtqLngA

— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 4, 2026

Iran distress call on Tuesday night

Sri Lankan politician Vijitha Herath spoke on behalf of the Sri Lankan navy confirming that “multiple bodies had been recovered,” with 32 injured in the incident now being treated in hospital. This follows the Sri Lankan navy answering their distress call just outside of their island’s territorial waters. Subsequently, they sent air force planes and ships on a rescue mission to the Iranian frigate ‘Iris Dena’.

Herath further informed that the ship had 180 souls on board.

The periscope video when American torpedo (launched by a submarine) hits the Iranian naval ship IRIS Dena. The Iranian ship was outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters but still within its economic zone, 44 nautical miles (81km) off the southern coastal city of Galle.

Sri Lankan… pic.twitter.com/pmhcuhCvHl

— Dr. Syed Mohd Murtaza مرتضیٰ (@syedmohdmurtaza) March 4, 2026

According to the Independent:

The Iris Dena, one of Iran’s newest warships, was the centrepiece of a two-ship international tour in 2023 that included port calls in countries including South Africa and Brazil, and was accompanied by the support ship IRIS Makran, a converted oil tanker.

Iris Dena, along with IRIS Makran, faced designated sanctions in February 2023 due to them supplying weapons to Russia which have been used against civilian targets in Ukraine.

US submarine sunk Iranian warship in Indian Ocean with torpedo, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says – follow live https://t.co/QtWkbJmW6m

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) March 4, 2026

War of aggression is escalating

This act of aggression from the US comes on the fifth day of what has widely been recognised to be an illegal war of aggression by the US and Israel. Israel has long been operating an apartheid system against Palestine, and is now nearly three years into its genocide on Gaza, despite huge condemnation.

After all, Israel’s genocide and crimes against humanity have been condemned by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague. Longstanding arrest warrants have also been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli leaders’ integral in the mass murder that has been live streamed since October 7th, 2023.

This news today marks an escalation in the US-Israeli military aggression against Iran. This makes it all the more important that powerful men face sufficient oversight before the world descends into chaos and never-before-seen levels of suffering across the Middle East.

We wrote today on a bill tabled by Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn in an attempt to address this serious issue, supported by eleven co-sponsors:

Corbyn has tabled the bill following Keir Starmer’s clear, public commitment to allow the US to use UK military bases in US and Israel’s illegal war on Iran for ‘defence’ purposes.

Because these two rogue states break international law daily, we must apply rigorous oversight and scrutinise government decisions that make us complicit in a war of aggression on Iran.

The full title of the bill is:

Bill to require parliamentary approval for the deployment of UK armed forces and military equipment for armed conflict; to require parliamentary approval for the granting of permission by Ministers for use of UK military bases and equipment by other nations for armed conflict; to require the withdrawal of that permission in circumstances where parliamentary approval is not granted; to provide for certain exemptions from these requirements; to make provision for retrospective parliamentary approval in certain circumstances; and for connected purposes.

Another Iraq: an aggression built on lies

US and Israel attacked Iran first on 28 February without provocation. Iran was offering unprecedented concessions in negotiations at the time. The Pentagon has since stated there was no imminent threat from Iran. And the UN’s atomic watchdog, the IAEA, has said there is no evidence Iran was developing a nuclear weapon.

However, lies were used by the US administration to justify its illegal war. Given it is working in tandem with Pinocchio-Israel who can’t seem to distinguish the difference between fact or fiction, the direction of travel is clear.

Those who believe in the necessity of the rule of law, applied without fear or favour, must now defend it harder than ever before. Otherwise, mass casualties will be seen on all sides of the conflict, whilst the powerful walk away unscathed.

Featured image via the Canary