A United States Navy submarine sunk an Iranian ship with a single torpedo as the frigate was transiting the Indian Ocean, marking the first such kill by a U.S. submarine since World War II, the Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike during a Pentagon press briefing on Operation Epic Fury alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine.
“Yesterday, in the Indian Ocean … an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.”
The identity of the fast-attack boat was not revealed, as is custom for operational security surrounding submarine operations.
The strike occurred off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, according to Reuters, which would indicate the action occurred in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility.
The IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate assigned to the Southern Fleet of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, was in the region after reportedly taking part in a naval drill in the Bay of Bengal.
Sri Lankan Foreign minister Vijitha Herath said 180 people were on board the IRIS Dena. Thirty-two people were subsequently rescued by Sri Lankan naval personnel.
Commander Buddhika Sampath, a Sri Lankan navy spokesman, said the rescue effort was also recovering bodies from the scene.
“For the first time since 1945, a United States Navy fast attack submarine has sunk an enemy combatant ship using a single Mk-48 torpedo to achieve immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea,” Caine said during the press briefing Wednesday.
“This is an incredible demonstration of America’s global reach. To hunt, find and kill an out-of-area deployer is something that only the United States can do at this type of scale.”
Caine added that, to date, the U.S. has hit over 2,000 total targets across Iran and destroyed more than 20 of the Islamic Republic’s naval vessels.
The campaign has “effectively neutralized, at this point in time, Iran’s major naval presence in theater,” he said.
Strikes on infrastructure and naval capability by the vast assembly of U.S. forces in the region are expected to continue over the next 24 to 48 hours, Caine noted.
“We’ll continue to assess our progress against the military objectives,” he said.
J.D. Simkins is Editor-in-Chief of Military Times and Defense News, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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