Iran’s leadership erupted in fury Thursday after a U.S. submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in international waters, an attack that reportedly killed more than 80 sailors and triggered an explosive warning from Tehran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said the United States would “bitterly regret the precedent it has set,” while an Iranian ayatollah intensified the rhetoric by calling for “Trump blood” in response to the deadly naval strike.
“The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning,” Aragchi wrote Thursday on X. He then issued a blunt warning directed at President Donald Trump and Washington. “Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set.”
“100 Hours” of Operation Epic Fury. pic.twitter.com/XW5ZnRAJJL
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 4, 2026
The dramatic attack has rapidly intensified tensions between Washington and Tehran as military confrontations between the two sides continue to escalate across the region. According to Trump officials, the Iranian vessel was destroyed by a powerful Mark 48 torpedo launched from an American submarine — one of the most advanced anti-ship weapons in the U.S. arsenal.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed the Iranian ship believed it was operating safely in international waters before the strike occurred. “The ship thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said, noting that the vessel was struck by a Mark 48 torpedo, a weapon that costs roughly $4.2 million and is designed to devastate large ships.
The leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has warned he ordered his forces to potentially target the U.S. Navy after President Donald Trump’s tweet a day earlier threatening to sink Iranian vessels. @JenGriffinFNC reports #specialreport pic.twitter.com/2iZxPDdIOc
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) April 24, 2020
Military analysts say the torpedo’s design allows it to detonate beneath a ship’s hull, creating a massive pressure bubble that effectively breaks the vessel apart from below. Thomas Shugart, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, explained that the torpedo likely detonated underneath the ship’s stern before lifting part of the vessel out of the water.
“This torpedo detonated underneath the stern of the Iranian ship and lifted it up out of the water,” Shugart said. “So it sank in a matter of minutes.”
Trump officials say the strike represents a historic moment in modern naval warfare. According to Pete Hegseth, it marks the first time the United States has sunk an enemy ship using a torpedo since World War II. The last such attack occurred in August 1945 when the USS Torsk destroyed a Japanese vessel just one day before Japan surrendered, bringing the war to an end. “Like in that war, back when we were still the War Department, we are fighting to win,” Pete Hegseth said.
Dramatic footage released by the Trump administration after the Operation Epic Fury attack appeared to show the moment the torpedo struck the Iranian warship, triggering a massive explosion that tore through the stern of the vessel. Flames and debris shot into the air as the ship quickly began taking on water before disappearing beneath the surface.
Rescue operations were launched shortly after the ship sank. Sri Lanka’s navy later confirmed that recovery crews pulled dozens of victims from the water. Trump officials said 87 bodies were recovered from the sea while 32 sailors were rescued alive during the search and rescue mission Wednesday.
Sri Lankan navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath said rescuers initially found little evidence of the warship itself when they reached the location. “When we arrived there were no signs of the vessel, only some oil patches and life rafts,” Sampath said. “We found people floating on the water,” he added while describing the grim scene.
Among those rescued were the ship’s commander and several senior officers, according to officials. The IRIS Dena had been returning to Iran from an eastern Indian port when the attack occurred, Sri Lanka’s deputy foreign minister confirmed. The warship had recently taken part in a multinational naval exercise hosted by India before beginning the journey home.
Iranian leaders responded to the strike with increasingly hostile rhetoric. Iranian Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli delivered a fiery message on state television Thursday calling for retaliation against Trump and America in the wake of the attack.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth states America is prepared to take offensive action against threats unilaterally if needed. The declaration signals a potential shift toward more aggressive U.S. military posture independent of allied coordination. pic.twitter.com/OnEL4A8V8l
— Intel Vault (@TheIntelVault) March 5, 2026
The cleric declared that the moment represented a major test for the country and urged unity among Iran’s leadership and allies. “We are now on the verge of a great test, and we must be careful to fully preserve this unity, to fully preserve this alliance,” Amoli said.
Amoli also invoked religious language in his remarks about Trump and the conflict with the United States. “The Imam of the time says, ‘Fight the oppressive America, his blood is on my shoulders.’” In another inflammatory statement, the ayatollah directly called for violence against the American president. He urged the “shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trump’s blood.”
The remarks underscore the rapidly rising tensions between Tehran and Washington as Operation Epic Fury continues to intensify across the region. U.S. Central Command has confirmed that more than 20 Iranian ships have been destroyed or disabled during the broader military campaign involving Iranian forces. But the sinking of the IRIS Dena stands out as one of the most dramatic naval strikes of the confrontation — and one that Iranian leaders now warn will have consequences.
