US wanted to kill all of us, Iranian survivor of torpedoed warship says

An Iranian sailor who survived the US torpedo attack on the IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean has accused Washington of intending to kill the entire crew, in the first account from a survivor of the frigate.

"The United States' main goal was to kill the crew of our IRIS Dena warship," Hamed Momeneh said in an interview with Tasnim News Agency, a clip of which was shared by the Iranian Embassy in India. At least 84 Iranian sailors were killed when the frigate was torpedoed and sunk by a US submarine in March while returning from a naval exercise in India.

Momeneh said if the US had only wanted to damage the warship, it would have targeted another part. He described being attacked without warning around 3-3.30am, adding: "It was not a war zone, and we had received no warning."

He revealed there were 104 crew members on board, and everyone was safe after the first torpedo hit. "No one left the ship. Everyone stood their ground until the end." He said forces remained in the vessel for a long time before being forced to swim to areas near Sri Lanka's coast.

The Iranian Embassy welcomed home nine sailors who survived the attack, posting on X: "Welcome home, heroic sailors."

The video drew angry reactions following Iran's firing on two India-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, with one Indian user writing: "Iran deserves no sympathy for firing upon the Indian tanker."

The IRIS Dena had docked in Visakhapatnam on February 16 to participate in the International Fleet Review and exercise MILAN-2026, receiving a warm welcome from India's Eastern Naval Command. Around 74 nations participated. The warship departed after the exercise and was attacked on March 4.