Exclusive: US carried out strike on Iranian warship off Sri Lanka coast, officials say

RiddleMaster · 2026-03-04T18:21:14+00:00

The U.S. military sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, leading to a rescue operation for Iranian sailors. While 32 were rescued, reports of 101 missing sparked confusion. The strike is part of ongoing U.S. military actions against Iran.

RiddleMaster

2026-03-04 18:21:14

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WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. military carried out a strike that sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka’s coast and triggered ‌a rescue for dozens of Iranian sailors by Sri Lanka’s navy, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

One of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the strike was carried ⁠out by a U.S. military submarine.

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The U.S. strike triggered a distress call and the Sri Lankan armed forces launched a search and rescue operation. Sri Lankan authorities said they had rescued 32 people so far and recovered several bodies from the sea.

Sources in Sri Lanka’s navy and defence ministry said the vessel had been attacked by a submarine and at least ‌101 ⁠people were missing in the incident that took place off Sri Lanka’s Indian Ocean coast.

The defence sources said it was unclear who attacked the ship.

A Sri Lankan navy spokesman said the report of ⁠101 people being missing was not true and rejected any reports on the cause of the ship sinking.

U.S. strikes on Iran’s Navy is ⁠a central part of the war against Iran, launch by the United States on Saturday.

On Tuesday, the U.S. military’s ⁠Central Command said it had already sunk 17 Iranian warships and was on track to destroy Iran’s entire navy.

Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Andrew Heavens

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Idrees Ali

Thomson Reuters

National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.

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Phil Stewart

Thomson Reuters

Phil Stewart has reported from more than 60 countries, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China and South Sudan. An award-winning Washington-based national security reporter, Phil has appeared on NPR, PBS NewsHour, Fox News and other programs and moderated national security events, including at the Reagan National Defense Forum and the German Marshall Fund. He is a recipient of the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence and the Joe Galloway Award.

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