India has clarified it had no role in the sinking of the Iranian naval ship IRIS Dena by a US submarine near Sri Lanka. Officials said the warship had already left Visakhapatnam after participating in the Indian Navy’s MILAN exercise.
New Delhi: Amid debate on social media platforms about the sinking of the Iranian naval ship IRIS Dena by the United States Submarine in the international waters off the coast of Sri Lanka, India has firmly stated it bears no responsibility for the attack on the warship, pointing out that the ship had already departed Indian shores well before the United States launched strikes against Iranian targets in a rapidly escalating West Asian conflict.
IRIS Dena was at the Visakhapatnam in February and participated in the MILAN multilateral naval exercise as a guest, hosted by the Indian Navy. The exercise was concluded on February 24, and the “the ship departed on the very next day for Iran,” multiple sources in the defence and security establishment said.
The sources further added that “From that point on, any responsibility toward the vessel ended.”
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“India’s watch gets over when ships leave Indian waters and not until they get home,” they said.
The frigate IRIS Dena subsequently moved into international waters and Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, with Hambantota as its last confirmed port of call.
Till March 4, the day she was torpedoed by the US submarine, the IRIS Dena was observed loitering in international waters. “Such things raise pointed questions about Iran’s own strategic calculus.”
The conflict between the US-Israel and Iran erupted on February 28, three days after the conclusion of the MILAN exercise.
“Staying of IRIS Dena in the vicinity for eight days wasn’t a part of Iran’s own action-reaction plan against the US Navy?” the sources asked.
“India was not a party to that conflict. We had neither control nor involvement in the vessel’s subsequent movements or activities.”
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Indian Navy’s stand on IRIS Dena
A distress call from IRIS Dena was received at the MRCC Colombo in the early hours of March 4 as reported by the Sri Lankan Navy.
The ship was operating 20 NM West of Galle in the SAR region under Sri Lankan responsibility.
“On receipt of the information, the Indian Navy promptly launched its SAR efforts commencing with a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at 1000 hr on March 4 to augment the search efforts led by Sri Lanka,” Indian Navy PRO Captan Vivek Madhwal said.
“Another aircraft with air droppable life rafts was also kept standby for immediate deployment.”
“INS Tarangini which was operating in vicinity was deployed for aiding the rescue efforts and arrived in search area by 1600 hr on March 4. By this time SAR had been undertaken by Sri Lankan Navy and other agencies.”
“INS Ikshak has also sailed from Kochi to augment the search efforts and continues to remain in the area to search for missing personnel as a humanitarian measure for ship wrecked personnel.”
“Coordination with the Sri Lankan side on Search and Rescue efforts is ongoing,” Madhwal added.
17 vessels targeted by the US forces
Over 17 vessels have been hit by US forces in recent operations, yet IRIS Dena has attracted disproportionate attention — in part because of its participation in the Indian-hosted exercise.
Historically, even during the World Wars, ships were targeted by adversaries regardless of location or timing. The US could have targeted any vessel it considered a belligerent, anywhere.
For the US, Iran is a belligerent nation and vice versa.
India, which has maintained a policy of non-involvement in the West Asia conflict, says the incident should not be conflated with the MILAN exercise — a multilateral engagement that brings together dozens of friendly navies.
