Iran sharply condemned the United States on Thursday after an American naval attack sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in international waters, an incident Tehran described as an “atrocity at sea” that could further escalate the widening regional war.
Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi accused Washington of launching an unprovoked strike thousands of miles from Iranian territory, warning that the United States would ultimately face consequences for setting what he called a dangerous precedent.
“Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning,” he wrote on social media. “Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set.”
The vessel had been visiting the Indian Navy before the attack and was carrying around 130 sailors when it was struck, according to Iranian officials.
US submarine torpedo sinks Iranian warship
The confrontation at sea occurred late Tuesday in the Indian Ocean, where the US Navy deployed a submarine that launched a torpedo strike on the Iranian warship.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that an American submarine sank the vessel, describing it as part of the expanding military campaign targeting Iran’s naval and missile capabilities.
Sri Lankan authorities reported that 32 crew members were rescued, while the country’s navy recovered 87 bodies from the wreckage.
Iranian officials said the attack killed dozens of sailors and insisted the vessel had been operating lawfully in international waters.
Araghchi denounced the strike as unjustified and said it demonstrated a willingness by Washington to extend the war far beyond the Middle East battlefield.
Iran launches new strikes as regional war intensifies
The naval attack came as the conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States intensified dramatically across the region.
Early Thursday, Iran launched a fresh wave of missile attacks targeting Israeli territory as well as American military bases across the Middle East.
Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as Israeli air defense systems moved to intercept incoming missiles.
Iranian state television said the strikes also targeted US installations in the region, signaling Tehran’s determination to broaden its retaliation.
Israel responded with what it described as a “large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure” in Tehran. Explosions were reported across several parts of the Iranian capital shortly afterwards.
The Israeli military also carried out attacks in Lebanon, targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
War expands beyond Iran and Israel
The rapidly escalating conflict has begun spilling into neighboring countries and major maritime routes.
Iran launched missiles toward Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel, while Turkey said NATO air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran before it entered Turkish airspace.
Meanwhile, tensions at sea intensified after an explosion struck a commercial tanker off the coast of Kuwait early Thursday.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre, which monitors security for shipping in the region, said the blast occurred near a vessel in waters that have increasingly become a theater of conflict.
Since the fighting began, attacks on shipping have occurred in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass.
Brent crude prices have surged about 15 per cent since the start of the conflict, reaching their highest level since July 2024.
Rising casualties across Middle East region
The war has already caused heavy casualties across several countries.
Iranian authorities said at least 1,045 people had been killed in Iran since the start of the conflict. In Israel, officials reported 11 deaths, while six American troops have also been killed.
Violence has spread into Lebanon, where at least 70 people have died amid Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah positions.
Explosions in Beirut’s southern suburbs late Wednesday killed three people and wounded several others after Israeli drone strikes hit vehicles in the area.
The Israeli military said it had also struck “several command centers” used by Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital.
US and Israel signal prolonged military campaign
Washington and Jerusalem have suggested that their military campaign could continue for weeks as they attempt to weaken Iran’s leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program.
During a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth declined to offer a firm timeline for US operations.
“You can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three,” he said. “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we’re going to keep them off balance.”
President Donald Trump praised the US military’s performance, saying American forces were “doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly.”
Republicans in the US Senate have largely backed the administration’s campaign, voting down a resolution that sought to halt the war.
Iran grapples with leadership crisis after Khamenei’s death
The conflict began with a series of joint US and Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s most powerful political and religious figure.
Iranian state television announced that the planned mourning ceremony for Khamenei had been postponed because of the intensity of ongoing military operations.
Iran’s clerical leadership has begun the process of selecting a successor, marking only the second transition of supreme leadership since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Possible candidates include hard-line clerics as well as figures who favor greater engagement with the West. Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s son, is widely considered a potential contender.
In the meantime, the country’s judiciary warned that “those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy.”
Growing fears of a wider regional conflict
As military strikes intensify and new fronts open across the Middle East, governments throughout the region are bracing for further escalation.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned this week of “the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, Qatar evacuated residents living near the US Embassy in Doha as a precaution, while fighter jets were heard flying over Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Against that backdrop, Iran’s warning over the sinking of the IRIS Dena underlined the growing risks of the conflict expanding beyond traditional battlefields.
By striking what Tehran described as a naval vessel on a diplomatic visit abroad, Iranian officials argue that the United States has crossed a dangerous threshold — one they say Washington may soon regret.
