IRIS Dena was ‘unarmed, unloaded’ during return from India when US attacked it: Iran

IRanian vas flag Dena was “unarmed and unloaded” during its journeying plunk for after participating in the naval work in India, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh claimed on Friday, days after a US submarine torpedoed the warship in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka's coast. Khatibzadeh, who is visiting India amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict that has caught several other Middle Eastern countries in between, condemned the attack on the Iranian vessel that led to the killing of 87 sailors. "This is a very sad, very unfortunate incident. That vessel was by invitation of our Indian friends, attending an international exercise. It was ceremonial. It was unloaded. It was unarmed," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. IRIS Dena's sinking off the Sri Lankan coast came on Wednesday, March 4, further itensitifying the US-Iran conflict and tensions in the Middle East. Days prior to the US attack, the Iranian vessel had taken part in the International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh and the Milan 2026 multi-nation exercise.Also Read: From beach selfies to sea grave: The final days of ill-fated Iran Navy ship Iris Dena's crew in IndiaIn its first reaction to the IRIS Dena sinking on Thursday, Iran had lashed out at the US for targeting “a guest of the Indian Navy” without warning. However, government sources had told HT that the vessel was India's guest only up till February 25 and sought no help from the country after the US-Iran conflict escalated last week.Later in the day, the Indian Navy issued a statement, saying it did receive a distress call from the MRCC Colombo after the IRIS Dena was struck in the Indian Ocean. Detailing the efforts the Navy made to assist the vessel, the Navy said in a statement: “A long-range maritime patrol aircraft at 1000 hr on 04 March 26 to augment the search efforts led by Sri Lanka. Another aircraft with air droppable life rafts was also kept standby for immediate deployment."India also said that it had deployed INS Tarangini for search and rescue efforts but they had already been undertaken by the Sri Lankan Navy and other agencies by that time. Meanwhile, the Iranian minister currently visiting India also talked about the US-Israel's joint attack on Iran and the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said that the international law had been violated. "Americans have assassinated the head of another state. If it is the new norm, then nobody, no country on earth can actually have diplomatic normalisation with other countries," he said, adding that Tehran was continue to resist against the US.Tensions had been simmering between the US and Iran for many weeks now but the conflict escalated last week after strikes reported in Tehran. To counter the US, its bases and consulates in several Middle Eastern countries were targeted by Tehran. The conflict has only escalated since then, with airspace closures and multiple flight cancellations across the UAE, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, considered big tourist hotspots.