Iran retaliates within hours; attacks US oil tanker, tensions escalate

TEHRAN: Iran said they have retaliated within hours after the US attacked its warship off the coast of Sri Lanka. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed that it destroyed an American oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf. Iran's Foreign Minister had earlier warned that it would retaliate for the US attack on its warship off the coast of Sri Lanka.

The Iranian warship IRIS Dena was attacked. The US sank Dena by a torpedo fired from a US submarine attack while it was sailing in the waters off Sri Lanka. 87 sailors were killed and 68 were missing in the attack. 32 were rescued by the Sri Lankan military.

The IRGC had stated that it would control the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for international shipping. The US attack on the IRIS Dena came shortly after this. The IRIS Dena was returning from an Indian Navy exercise in Visakhapatnam. The US shared footage of the attack on Twitter.

The ship was hit by a torpedo from a US submarine in the Indian Ocean. The ship was completely sunk after being hit. Sri Lankan authorities received a distress call from the ship at around 5.08 am yesterday. The incident took place 40 nautical miles off the coast of Galle, outside Sri Lankan territorial waters. The Sri Lankan Navy and Air Force immediately launched a rescue operation. The rescued people were taken to a hospital in Karapitiya.