Two days after a U.S. submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka's coast, Iran on Friday warned that the attack on an "unarmed ship cannot go with impunity."
The Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, was returning home after participating in the Milan multilateral naval exercise hosted by India. At least 87 Iranian sailors were killed in the attack, which marked a major escalation in the conflict between the U.S. and Iran outside of the Persian Gulf.
Sinking of Iranian ship brings war to region, say Sri Lankan and Maldivian leaders
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh, who is visiting India, emphasised that the IRIS Dena was in a non-combat configuration, returning from the Milan naval exercises and the U.S. action against it was a serious violation of international law.
"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 said
