On Exelauno Day, an American Submarine Sinks an Iranian Warship Off the Coast of Sri Lanka

One of the goals of the American military has been to sink Iran’s navy, in order to make it very difficult, or even impossible, for the Islamic Republic to carry out its threat to block all sea traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The Americans have in the first four days of the war already blown to smithereens 17 Iranian ships in the Gulf, but one ship, then newest, biggest, and most powerful ship in Iran’s navy, had until now escaped being hit, because it had been on a joint training exercise far away — some 2,500 nautical miles from the Strait of Hormuz. Now that ship has been sunk by an American submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka, with 140 of its 180-man crew believed to have died.

More on this unexpected and most welcome development can be found here: “US submarine sinks Iranian warship off Sri Lanka,’” by Tom Cotterill, Telegraph, March 4, 2026:

An Iranian warship was sunk by an American submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday, the US defence secretary has confirmed.

Pete Hegseth said the Iranian ship was hit by a torpedo fired from a US submarine in international waters, as the Trump administration continues its bombing campaign against Iran in partnership with Israel.

Declassified footage released by the US department of war on Wednesday showed the moment the torpedo exploded as it slammed into the ship. The force of the explosion lifted part of the Iranian vessel out of the water.

Sri Lanka’s navy has recovered 87 bodies so far.

Mr Hegseth described the hit as a “quiet death” for the Iranian navy vessel.

The Iranian ship was identified as the IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate from the Southern Fleet of the Islamic Republic of Iran navy that can carry around 180 crew….

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday claimed it had “complete control” of the Strait, the pinch-point entrance to the Persian Gulf that is key to oil supply….

How can the IRGC claim it has “complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz, when it no longer has a navy to enforce the blockade? Will it use planes to sink ships in the Strait, when almost all of its air force has been destroyed in the first five days of the war? How many ballistic missiles does Iran still possess to shoot at tankers traveling through the Gulf? President Trump has said the U.S. navy will escort oil and LNG tankers through the Strait. How does Iran plan to stop them?

Iran has targeted some tankers in the Gulf since the US-Israeli operation began on Saturday. However, its navy has also been heavily depleted, with its naval headquarters destroyed and several warships sunk.

Iran’s navy was “heavily depleted” by the third day of the war. Today, the fifth day of the war, with 18 of its ships, including one submarine, having been sunk, including the new and powerful warship, the IRS Dena sunk by an American submarine far from the Gulf, it is even closer to being eliminated as a credible threat.

The sinking of an Iranian ship located 2,500 nautical miles from the Strait of Hormuz must surely have startled and unsettled the Iranian leaders. It means that whatever handful of ships Iran still possesses can be hunted down and destroyed wherever they are in the world; there is no place that they can be safe. The long arm of the American navy provided the proof on March 4.

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