The Congress on Wednesday asked if the Narendra Modi-led government was losing influence in its own neighbourhood and whether that diplomatic space has been ceded to Washington and Tel Aviv as Pentagon confirmed that it sank an Iranian warship.

“Today, an Iranian naval vessel – returning from the Milan 2026 International Fleet Review, where it had been invited by India – was sunk by a U.S. submarine at the edge of Indian waters near Sri Lanka. Does India have no influence left in its own neighbourhood? Or has that space also been quietly ceded to Washington and Tel Aviv,” Congress leader Pawan Khera wrote on X, a few hours after it emerged that an Iranian warship (IRIS Dena) had sunk off Sri Lanka’s southern coast.

There’s no response from the BJP or the Centre, yet.

“At least 80 people killed in US submarine strike on Iranian warship in Indian Ocean,” Sri Lanka’s deputy foreign minister told local media.

Reuters had earlier reported that at least 101 people are missing and 78 wounded, including 32 seriously.

Author and entrepreneur Shanaka Anslem Perera had initially flagged that the US may be behind the IRIS Dena sinking in the Indian Ocean earlier in the day.

The IRIS Dena had sailed into the Visakhapatnam point on February 16 for the International Fleet Review 2026, where 74 nations participated, except the US, according to Perera.

“Warships from Australia, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and dozens of others anchored alongside her. India’s President Droupadi Murmu reviewed the fleet. Iran’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani held talks with India’s Chief of Naval Staff on strengthening maritime security cooperation. The theme was ‘United through Oceans,’” Perera wrote.

Perera noted that the US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney was expected but did not arrive.

“It was cancelled at the last minute. The Maritime Executive reported the reason: it would have been embarrassing to have Pinckney moored alongside IRIS Dena should war break out with Iran during the fleet review,” Perera said on X.

The exercise ended February 25. Three days later, the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury. And the IRIS Dena was going back home.

Perera wrote that the IRIS Dena was “caught in transit, between a peacetime exercise and a war that started while she was sailing home.”

On Wednesday (March 4), reports said the Iranian naval frigate had been sunk off the southern coast of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan foreign minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that Sri Lankan authorities had rescued 32 people who were on board and recovered several bodies from the sea.

The navy received a distress call from an Iranian ship and informed the Sri Lankan air force and launched a search and rescue operation, a navy spokesman said.

Sri Lankan forces had also not observed any other ship or aircraft in the area of the incident, he added.

Dr Anil Jasinghe, a top health ministry official, said one of the rescued sailors was in critical condition, seven were receiving emergency treatment and others were being treated for minor injuries.

The Sri Lankan navy has recovered “a few bodies” of Iranian sailors after what crew members reported as an explosion, a spokesman said Wednesday.

“We have found a few bodies from the area where the ship had gone down,” local navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath told reporters in Colombo, adding that the search for others was continuing.

The incident comes on the fifth day of the war between the US, Israel and Iran.

The US and Israel have hit Tehran and other cities with multiple airstrikes, targeting Iranian leadership, security forces, nuclear facilities, air defences and ballistic missile launchers. Nearly 2,000 targets have reportedly been struck.

The situation escalated after a joint airstrike campaign launched on February 28, which killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz and launching missile and drone strikes against Israeli cities including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as well as US military assets across the Gulf in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE.

The Sri Lanka Navy has firmly dismissed speculation that the incident involving the Iranian Navy vessel was an attack, stressing that the situation remains classified strictly as a distress call.

Navy Spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath said determining the cause must come later, as the Navy’s immediate responsibility is the rescue operation.

Responding to a journalist’s question citing media reports that 180 crew were on board while 32 had been rescued, Commander Sampath said the actual number of personnel must be verified through survivor accounts.

“Documentation indicates those numbers, but the credible confirmation must come from survivors. We are hopeful of finding more,” he said, adding that the Navy continues to conduct an extended search-and-rescue operation, adjusted for prevailing weather conditions.

Commander Sampath confirmed that bodies have been found, but he could not yet provide verified figures. “We suspect the bodies belong to the distressed ship, but I cannot give a number until it is confirmed,” he said.

When asked directly whether the distressed vessel was an Iranian Navy warship, he responded: “It is obvious that it belongs to the Iranian Navy. But I cannot give 100% assurance that all rescued persons are Iranian Navy sailors, because naval ships sometimes carry civilian staff. I can confirm the ship is an Iranian Navy vessel.”

A journalist referred to a government spokesperson calling the incident an “attack,” prompting the Navy to clarify its position.

“The correct technical term is distress call. The cause of the distress will be determined later by specialised bodies. We are doing our job under MRCC and UNCLOS provisions,” Commander Sampath said.

When questioned about the presence of any other foreign naval vessels in the vicinity at the time of the distress call, Commander Sampath was clear: “As of now, none. We observed no ships in that area. Our full focus was on the search and rescue operation.”

He acknowledged that the ship may have been outside typical shipping corridors, noting that no vessels were visible on arrival, possibly due to the timing of the incident. The Navy has since expanded the search area.

“We are conducting extended search and rescue operations with scientific calculations based on the distress time, weather conditions, and maritime environment,” he said.

The Navy spokesperson was also asked about speculation that the Iranian ship had been waiting for permission to call at a Sri Lankan port. Commander Sampath declined to engage in the speculation, reiterating the Navy’s priority: “My focus is to give updates on the rescue mission. As per international obligations, we are the first responders because the incident occurred within our Search and Rescue Region.”

He emphasised that Sri Lanka continues to act fully in accordance with international maritime conventions, regulations, and obligations. Search and rescue efforts involving the Sri Lanka Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard remain ongoing.

He also stated that Iranian officials are in contact with the survivors, while the Navy continues to focus on its operational responsibilities.

END