India’s navy has revealed it scrambled a warship and maritime patrol aircraft after receiving a desperate distress call from Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, minutes after the vessel was fatally struck by a US submarine torpedo south of Sri Lanka.

Officials in New Delhi say Indian assets joined an international search‑and‑rescue effort in coordination with Sri Lanka, whose navy pulled dozens of survivors from the water as burning debris and an oil slick marked the spot where the 1,500‑ton warship went down. Early tallies suggest around 130 sailors were on board; at least 87 are feared dead or missing, making it the deadliest naval loss in decades.

IRIS Dena had just left India after taking part in the International Fleet Review and the MILAN 2026 exercise at Visakhapatnam, sailing home unescorted when a Mark‑48 torpedo smashed into her hull — the first time a US submarine has sunk an enemy warship with a torpedo since World War II.

Tehran is seething. Iran’s foreign minister has blasted the strike as an “atrocity at sea” and warned Washington it will “bitterly regret” attacking what he calls “a guest of the Indian Navy.”4 Indian government sources quietly counter that Dena ceased to be an official guest once she exited Indian waters on February 25, framing India’s role as strictly humanitarian.

Caught between a key security partner and a long‑standing energy and regional interlocutor, New Delhi is now walking a razor’s edge: showcasing its blue‑water rescue reach while trying not to be dragged deeper into a US–Iran war that has suddenly lapped at its own backyard.