US submarine sinks Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka

The Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was torpedoed and sunk by the United States Navy submarine USS Charlotte. The attack happened in waters off Sri Lanka. At least 87 of the 180 people on board were killed. The Sri Lanka Navy rescued 32 others, and 61 remained missing.

A frigate is a warship, and a submarine attack by torpedo is the method the report gave for the sinking. USS Charlotte is the American boat named. IRIS Dena is the Iranian ship. Off Sri Lanka places the sinking in the Indian Ocean near that island, far from the Persian Gulf.

One hundred eighty people were on board. At least 87 were killed, 32 were rescued, and 61 were still missing. Those three figures account for the ship's company as reported, with the deaths stated as a minimum. The rescuer was the Sri Lanka Navy, not the attacking submarine.

The sinking was recorded as part of the 2026 Iran war. The report did not describe a battle that preceded the torpedo hit or say whether the frigate fired back. It stated the attacker, the weapon as a torpedo, the location, and the toll. Missing means those 61 people had not been found when the figures were issued.

Sri Lanka's navy taking survivors shows the nearest coastal state conducted the rescue. Thirty-two people were brought out of the water by that navy. The missing and the dead were the rest of the accounting. No names of sailors were included.

USS Charlotte sank IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka. At least 87 of 180 people aboard were killed, 32 were rescued by the Sri Lanka Navy, and 61 were missing. The attack was a torpedo strike by an American submarine. Those numbers were the reported result of the sinking.