US wanted to kill all of us: IRIS Dena sailor on torpedo attack in Indian Ocean

"The United States' main goal was to kill the crew of our IRIS Dena warship," Hamed Momeneh, one of the sailors who survived the torpedo attack in March, said, in what is the first account of a survivor from the Iranian frigate. At least 84 Iranian sailors were killed in the attack. A frigate-class warship, IRIS Dena, was torpedoed and sunk by a US submarine in the Indian Ocean while it was returning after a naval exercise in India.

Momeneh said if the US wanted to damage just the warship, it would have targeted some other part. A video of Momeneh's account of the torpedo attack was shared by the Iranian Embassy in India. The embassy also announced the homecoming of nine sailors who survived the US attack on the IRIS Dena. "Welcome home, heroic sailors," it posted on X.

The IRIS Dena was returning from Vishakapatnam and was targeted in waters that aren't part of India's maritime boundary. It came to light later that India had given shelter to another Iranian ship.

The video of Momeneh's account posted by the Iranian Embassy in India saw some angry reactions over the firing by Iran on two India-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.

"Iran deserves no sympathy for firing upon the Indian tanker. Earlier, I had sympathy for Iran, but now the government has become rogue by opening and closing the Strait of Hormuz like pirates," wrote an Indian on X, responding to the video.

"Victim narrative from the world's biggest maritime aggressor," said another person.

US ATTACKED IRIS DENA WITHOUT WARNING: IRAN SAILOR

Revealing the situation of sailors during the attack, Hamed Momeneh said that there were 104 crew members on board, and everyone was safe after the first torpedo was fired from the US submarine. Momeneh shared the information in an interview with Tasnim News Agency, Iran's semi-official news agency. A clip from the interview was shared on Sunday by the Embassy of Iran in India on X.

"The attack was carried out without warning by a submarine. When the first torpedo hit, all personnel were at their posts, and fortunately, at that moment, we had no casualties," Momeneh said. "There were 104 crew members on board, and no one left the ship. Everyone stood their ground until the end," he added.

"This vessel had been sent to the port of Visakhapatnam in India to take part in a naval exercise," Momeneh said. "While returning home, and as the ship was sailing in international waters of the Indian Ocean, it came under attack," he added.

The IRIS Dena docked in Visakhapatnam on February 16 to participate in the Fleet Review (IFR) and the multilateral exercise, MILAN-2026. It received a warm welcome from India's Eastern Naval Command. Around 74 nations participated in the exercise. The US Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney was expected to participate, but it cancelled at the last minute. The exercise ended on February 25. The Iranian warship departed after the naval exercise, and on March 4 it was attacked by the US submarine.

FUN TO SINK WARSHIP THAN CAPTURE IT, TRUMP WAS TOLD

Momeneh alleged that the US attack was against international maritime laws and also said that they had not received any prior warnings. "It was around 3:00 to 3:30 am when we were suddenly attacked — an attack that was completely against international maritime laws. It was not a war zone, and we had received no warning," Momeneh said.

US President Donald Trump, in a mocking tone, said that with the sinking of the IRIS Dena, he "got a little upset". He said the US wanted to capture the warship. But according to Trump, officials told him it was "fun" to sink the ship rather than capture it.

Momeneh said the main goal of the US was to kill the crew of the warship. "If their aim had only been to damage the ship, they could have targeted other parts, but the main goal was to kill the crew," he said. "We stood firm to the end. For us, the Dena was like the soil of Iran, and leaving it had no meaning," he said.

The sailor also revealed that the forces remained in the vessel for a very long time, and later were forced to swim for some distance in the ocean to reach areas near the coast of Sri Lanka.

Government sources later revealed that India had given shelter to more than 180 crew of Iran's IRIS Lavan in Kochi in March, around the same time that the IRIS Dena was torpedoed.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Iran had sought permission for three of its ships to dock at Indian ports on 28 February. It has been reported that while those that docked stayed out of harm's way, the IRIS Dena, which was also permitted docking, decided to journey on and was torpedoed by a US submarine.

The IRIS Dena sinking created a massive controversy in India because the ship was returning after a naval exercise in Vishakapatnam, and the row only rested after it came to light that New Delhi had sheltered another Iranian ship.

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