Days before a US submarine sank an Iranian frigate in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka, Iran had approached India seeking urgent docking permission for one of its naval ships at Kochi, government sources said.
Tehran made the request on February 28, the same day the United States and Israel carried out joint strikes on Iran. The Iranian Navy ship IRIS Lavan reportedly developed technical issues and required immediate repairs. The vessel was in the region to take part in the International Fleet Review.
According to sources, India granted permission on March 1 and the ship docked in Kochi on March 4. The vessel has a crew of 183 members, who are currently being accommodated at naval facilities in the port city.
However, another Iranian naval ship was not as fortunate. IRIS Dena, which had earlier taken part in a naval exercise at Visakhapatnam, was sailing back to Iran when it was hit by a torpedo reportedly fired from a US submarine on March 4. The attack led to the sinking of the warship and further escalated tensions in the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the US and Israel.
The incident occurred in international waters about 40 nautical miles from the southern Sri Lankan port of Galle. The frigate reportedly sent out a distress signal after an explosion at dawn, but it had already sunk by the time rescue ships from Sri Lanka reached the area. Reports suggest that more than 80 sailors lost their lives in the incident.
Following criticism over the response to the incident, the Indian Navy clarified that it had launched search-and-rescue operations after receiving the distress call.
The Navy said a long-range maritime patrol aircraft was deployed to assist search efforts already being conducted by Sri Lankan authorities. Another aircraft carrying air-droppable life rafts was kept on standby.
Naval vessel INS Tarangini was diverted to the area to support the rescue mission, while INS Ikshak sailed from Kochi to assist in the search operations. The vessel continues to remain in the region to help locate missing personnel on humanitarian grounds.
Meanwhile, Abbas Araghchi strongly condemned the sinking of the frigate, describing it as an “atrocity at sea” in a post on X. He claimed the ship had been attacked without warning in international waters and described IRIS Dena as a “guest of India’s Navy.”
On the other hand, Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike while speaking at the Pentagon, calling it a “quiet death” delivered by torpedo. He said the operation was part of the widening conflict triggered by the earlier joint US-Israel strikes on Iran, which has since spread across parts of the Middle East.