COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka's navy said Wednesday it recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people.
The Iranian vessel that was sunk in the Indian Ocean was the Islamic Republic’s “prize ship,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a Pentagon news briefing. Hegseth said it was the first sinking of an enemy ship with a torpedo by the U.S. since World War II.
Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament that its navy received information that the IRIS Dena, with 180 people on board, was in distress and sinking. The island nation sent ships and air force planes on a rescue mission, he said.
Navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said by the time navy ships reached the location, there was no sign of the ship and “there were only some oil patches and life rafts. We found people floating on the water.”
He said the 32 people rescued were admitted to a hospital in the seaside town of Galle on the Sri Lanka's southern coast. The bodies recovered were being brought to land, he said.
Dr. Anil Jasinghe, a top health ministry official, said one of those rescued is in critical condition, seven are receiving emergency treatment and others are being treated for minor injuries.
The IRIS Dena — one of Iran’s newest warships — is a Moudge-class frigate that patrols in deep water for the Iranian navy. It is armed with heavy guns, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. It also carries one helicopter.
The frigate was the centerpiece of a two-ship international tour in 2023 that included port calls in countries including South Africa and Brazil. It was accompanied by the support ship IRIS Makran, a converted oil tanker.
The U.S. Treasury Department included both ships on a sanctions designation in February 2023 along with eight executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer that supplied the weapons to Russia for use against civilian targets in Ukraine.
At least 17 Iranian naval vessels have been sunk during the ongoing war, said U.S. Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads the American military’s Central Command.
“We are also sinking the Iranian navy — the entire navy,” he said in a video message.
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Associated Press journalists Adam Schreck in Bangkok and Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel and the U.S. intensified their bombardment of Iran's security forces and other symbols of power Wednesday, as Tehran vowed to completely destroy the Middle East's military and economic infrastructure — all indications that the war was nowhere near over and risks expanding further.
In addition to striking Tehran on the fifth day of the conflict, Israel hit the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, while Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel. As the conflict spiraled, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey’s airspace. And an Iranian warship sank off the coast of Sri Lanka, though it was not immediately clear what happened.
The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that state television announced the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the conflict, would be postponed. As fighter jets roared overhead, those in Tehran worried about whether and how to flee.
The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and dozens in Lebanon, while disrupting the supply of the world’s oil and gas, snarling international shipping, and stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.
Both sides are unrelenting in their attacks
Israel said it hit buildings associated with Iran's Basij, the all-volunteer force of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that conducted a bloody crackdown on protesters in January that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained in the country.
The Israeli military also said it hit buildings associated with Iran’s internal security command, which also has suppressed demonstrations in the past. It also pounded towns near Beirut on Wednesday.
Israel and the U.S. have said they want to see the Iranian public overthrow the country's theocracy. Strikes against counterprotest forces likely are part of that effort.
Iranian state television showed the ruins of buildings in center of the capital of Tehran, with interviewees complaining the attacks damaged their homes. Strikes have also been reported in the holy Shiite seminary city of Qom, targeting a building associated with a clerical panel set to pick Iran’s next supreme leader. Iranian media said it was empty at the time and their work continued.
State TV has begun calling the conflict the “Ramadan war,” a reference to the holy Muslim fasting month currently taking place. But that term also suggested leaders are trying to prepare the public that the war will continue for some time.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, echoed that sentiment, saying: “We’ve just begun.”
Cooper and American forces have damaged Iran’s air defenses and taken out ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen Effie Defrin said that has led to a decline in launches from Iran.
Still, explosions echoed across the skies over Jerusalem on Wednesday, and Israel’s military said Iran had launched missiles toward the country.
Iran has also struck around the region. Air sirens sounded Wednesday morning across the island kingdom of Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
Authorities said 32 people were rescued from the Iranian ship that was reported in distress off the coast of Sri Lanka. It was not immediately clear what happened to the ship or how many people were on board. The U.S. military said earlier it had already destroyed 17 Iranian vessels and that its goal was sinking “the entire navy.”
At least 1,045 people have been killed in Iran, the country's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday. Eleven people in Israel have been killed. More than 50 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. Six U.S. troops have been killed.
Those in Tehran are unsure of what to do
A resident of Tehran, who runs a clothing shop, said he didn’t know what, if anything, he could do to protect himself from the bombing.
“It’s very difficult to decide what to do. If I leave the city, how am I supposed to earn money and survive?” said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the fear of reprisals.
“I just hope the Arabs do not get involved. If they do, their missiles won’t be as precise as these.”