US secretary of war Peter Hegseth later confirmed that a US submarine had sunk the IRIS Dena. Author and entrepreneur Shanaka Anslem Perera had initially flagged that the US may be behind the IRIS Dena sinking in the Indian Ocean earlier in the day. The IRIS Dena had sailed into the Visakhapatnam point on February 16 for the International Fleet Review 2026, where 74 nations participated, except the US, according to Perera. And the IRIS Dena was going back home. The Sri Lankan navy has recovered “a few bodies” of Iranian sailors after what crew members reported as an explosion, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Source: The Telegraph March 04, 2026 18:25 UTC