Iranian Sailor Told Father Of US Ultimatum Before Torpedo Attack: Report

A sailor of the Iranian Navy warship IRIS Dena had phoned his father minutes before the frigate was struck by a torpedo, saying American forces had twice ordered the crew to abandon the warship, according to a report by the news website Iran International.

The sailor was killed in the attack by a US submarine. A source familiar with the family's account told Iran International that despite the warnings, the ship's commander refused to give the evacuation order.

The standoff between the commander and his crew had consequences. According to the source, several sailors argued with the commander - and the 32 who made it out alive were largely those who had defied orders and reached the lifeboats on their own.

The US submarine torpedoed the IRIS Dena on the morning of March 4 in the Indian Ocean. Of some 180 crew members aboard, 87 bodies have since been recovered. Sri Lanka's Navy, responding to a distress call, found no trace of the ship when it arrived - only an oil slick, empty life rafts, and sailors floating in the water.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had confirmed the strike at the Pentagon. He described it as a "quiet death" - the first time a US Navy submarine had sunk an enemy combatant since the Second World War.

The attack was carried out by the USS Charlotte, a Los Angeles-class submarine that fired Mark 48 torpedoes, one of which hit the Dena's stern and sent it to the bottom within minutes.

The geographic reach of the strike underscored how far the conflict has extended from its origins in the Gulf. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi noted that the ship was lost over 3,000 km from Iran's shores - and that it had been a guest of the Indian Navy barely a week earlier, participating in the MILAN 2026 multilateral exercises off Visakhapatnam.