On February 4, the Iran war took an unholy turn. As India celebrated Holi, the conflict reached the country’s backyard when a sneaky US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, leaving over 80 sailors dead and 100 missing. The incident has drawn further scrutiny as the warship, IRIS Dena, was returning after participating in two exercises organised by the Indian Navy. India has received heavy criticism, with the Congress framing it as Delhi losing influence in its own neighbourhood. However, is it justified to blame India for the incident?
We will come to the answer shortly. Before that, let us understand why the incident is significant for India. The incident has signalled that the US-Israel war on Iran, launched just days ago, is not just limited to the Gulf. It has arrived in India’s strategic backyard.
HOW IRAN SHIP WAS SUNK IN INDIAN OCEAN?
The IRIS Dena, a frigate belonging to the Iranian navy’s Southern Fleet, docked in Visakhapatnam on February 16 to participate in the International Fleet Review (IFR) and the multilateral exercise, MILAN-2026. It received a warm welcome from India’s Eastern Naval Command.
“Indian Navy welcomes IRIS Dena, of the Iranian Navy, on her arrival at Visakhapatnam… reflecting long-standing cultural links between the two nations,” it tweeted.
Around 74 nations participated in the exercise, except the US. 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. Three days later, the US and Israel struck Iran, kicking off a full-blown war that has now spread across the Middle East.
On February 4, the IRIS Dena was returning home from Visakhapatnam when it was attacked off the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
The US did not mince words about the fact that it brazenly sank a ship in international waters.
“An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death,” US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
Iran, highlighting that the frigate was a guest of India’s Navy, warned that the US would “regret” the incident bitterly. “Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning,” Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
INDIA SILENT, OPPOSITION ATTACKS
It is the closest that the war has come to India. The Iranian ship was sunk in a region that is part of PM Narendra Modi’s MAHASAGAR vision, which envisages India as a key pillar of stability in the Indian Ocean.
Thus, the presence of a US submarine in an area where India and Sri Lanka often conduct joint patrols will undoubtedly raise strategic concerns in Delhi.
So far, the Narendra Modi government has maintained a stoic silence on the incident while rejecting claims that the Donald Trump administration was using its ports to launch attacks on Iran.
The silence has stirred a cacophony of criticism from the opposition. Allegations that India has lost its spine and that it was “betrayal of the highest order” have filled social media as well.
The Congress questioned if India’s influence in its own neighbourhood was being ceded to the US and Israel. “PM Modi’s compromise is putting India to shame. This cowardice is unacceptable. Where is our regional clout?” tweeted Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar also questioned India’s radio silence. “Has India become so spineless that it can’t tell US that it has no business to use its submarine to kill 80 sailors by sinking an Iranian ship that was returning from India after a Naval Exercise. That too, so perilously close to India?” Sircar said.
The development comes at a time when the government is already facing flak from the opposition for not explicitly condemning the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, despite historical ties with Tehran. However, the government has framed its “balancing act” as “responsible diplomacy”.
CAN INDIA BE HELD RESPONSIBLE?
Now, coming to the main question. Can India be held responsible for the sinking of the Iranian ship? Experts and retired army personnel said India cannot be held responsible for the incident.
Moreover, since the incident occurred near Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, it gives India space to distance itself.
Defence expert Sandeep Unnithan said India was nowhere at fault and it cannot be held responsible for any ship that comes in or goes out.
“It is not our fault. India can’t be held responsible. They (Iran crew) didn’t ask for any help, escort or protection,” he told India Today. The captain of the IRIS Dena knew Iran was at war, and he should have asked India for shelter, Unnithan said.
“The US has been attacking the Iranian Navy. The captain should have possibly pulled into an Indian port and asked for shelter. There should have been no problem with it. They could have spent some time,” he said.
“But to say that the Iranian ship is out there and the Indian Navy should have automatically moved in because we hosted them, is incorrect,” Unnithan said. “A country is not responsible for the conduct of what a ship does after an event or exercise,” he underlined.
Echoing Unnithan, Lt General DP Pandey said the Iranian ship did not seek an escort from the Indian Navy in international waters.
“Our watch gets over when the ship leaves territorial waters. Not till they get home. Their country is at war. They should have stayed in the shelter of India,” he said.
The facts are clear – The Iranian ship was in international waters. Thus, to that extent, India is not responsible for the conduct of what it does after an event.
– Ends
Published By:
Abhishek De
Published On:
Mar 5, 2026 11:50 IST
