A report for Iran International has revealed that American forces involved in Operation Epic Fury notified an Iranian warship twice that an attack was impending and advised the Iranian sailors to abandon the vessel, the outlet published on Saturday.
An Iranian sailor who was killed when the warship Dena was struck by the US near Sri Lanka had called his father shortly beforehand, saying American forces had issued two warnings for the crew to abandon the vessel, a source close to the family told Iran International.
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) March 7, 2026
The… pic.twitter.com/ujm2NJej76
The outlet has cited testimony from and individual close to the family of a deceased sailor aboard the IRIS Dena. The family member claimed that the sailor had called his father shortly before the torpedoes were launched. The commander of the vessel reportedly forbade crewmembers from abandoning the vessel, leading to an argument on the ship.
The Department of War released footage of the sinking of the Dena on Wednesday, after the ship was hit by torpedoes from an American submarine.
https://t.co/PiqQpVIrMu pic.twitter.com/Wc1e0B0um7
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) March 4, 2026
U.S. officials have now confirmed that a submarine with the U.S. Navy was responsible for the targeting this morning of the Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sri Lanka. Over 100 sailors of the Iranian Navy remain missing following the attack, with… pic.twitter.com/VUzP1GbWQp
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 4, 2026
32 of the survivors were rescued by the Sri Lankan Navy. Many on the Left jumped on the sinking of the ship, labeling the move as a “war crime” since the American submarine did not conduct rescue operations for the Iranian sailors. They have conveniently ignored that the Iranian ship was a legitimate target, and that submarines lack the necessary capabilities to conduct widespread rescue operations. INDOPACOM has indicated that they coordinated with Sri Lankan forces to provide aid those aboard the Dena as well.
🚫 Iran claims IRIS Dena was unarmed - FALSE
— U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (@INDOPACOM) March 7, 2026
✅ Law of Armed Conflict authorized the use of force to target and destroy valid military targets - TRUE
✅ U.S. forces planned for and Sri Lanka provided life-saving support to survivors in accordance with the Law of Armed Conflict -… pic.twitter.com/DdY5RNFUYf
With this new report, it is clear that American forces gave the Iranians every chance possible to save their own lives. That fact will remind the world of the morality of the United States, so don’t be surprised when it gets memory-holed.
