The moment US submarine sinks Iranian Navy warship off Sri Lanka with 148 suspected drowned as Iran launches missiles at Turkey as war spreads across globe – live updates

The US Department of War shared footage of the submarine strike

This is the moment an Iranian warship was torpedoed by an American submarine causing it to sink in the Indian Ocean.

Pete Hegseth has confirmed the US was responsible for the sinking of IRIS Dena after it exploded around 25 miles south of Sri Lanka.

Speaking at a Pentagon briefing today, Mr Hegseth said: ‘Yesterday, in the Indian Ocean, an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters.

‘Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo – a quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two.’

Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 sailors from the frigate but hopes were fading for 148 other sailors, the island’s Foreign minister and defence officials said.

Authorities have since confirmed at least 87 people have been killed while more than 60 remain missing.

The warship was returning from a military exercise in India at the time of the attack.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar posted a tribute to one of the service members killed during Operation Epic Fury.

‘Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor of White Bear Lake, MN – who was killed in Kuwait while serving our country – received many awards for her service,’ Klobuchar wrote on X.

‘She was also an avid gardener who made salsa from the peppers and tomatoes in her garden with her son, a senior in high school. She also enjoyed rollerblading and bicycling with her fourth-grade daughter. Here she is with her husband Joey.’

The General Belgrano was sunk during the Falklands War

by Elizabeth Haigh

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrongly claimed the country’s torpedoing of an Iranian warship is the first such attack since World War II – despite the General Belgrano famously being sunk during the Falklands War.

At the height of the Falklands War in May 1982, Britain’s HMS Conqueror fired two torpedoes into the General Belgrano warship.

The attack led to the deaths of 323 Argentine sailors and controversy has raged ever since, with critics arguing that the ship had been sailing away from the 200-mile exclusion zone that had been declared around the Falklands by Britain.

The Belgrano was sunk by the Royal Navy four weeks after the start of the 10-week conflict with Argentina, which broke out after troops from the South American country invaded the Falklands, on the orders of dictatorial leader General Leopoldo Galtieri.

The Argentinian government later said the sinking of the Belgrano was an acceptable act of war, but that did not stop furious critics from arguing that Margaret Thatcher’s government was wrong to attack the vessel.

US Senator Lindsey Graham wrote on X that he had a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

‘I just had a very good call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He expressed his gratitude to President Trump, our brave men and women in the military, and the American people for joining the fight against modern day religious Nazis in Iran,’ Graham wrote.

‘The Prime Minister spoke glowingly of the support President Trump has provided and his steadfast leadership. We are not there yet but, in my view, it’s not if this terrorist regime falls in Iran – it is only a matter of when.

‘Finally, we discussed the gateway to peace that would be opened with the sinking of the mothership of terrorism – the Iranian regime. The Prime Minister is fully committed to trying to build on the Abraham Accords taking the region to a new level of prosperity and security.’

The divisions ripping the Middle East apart today are not new. Indeed, they are almost as old as the beginnings of Islam, 1,400 years ago.

But now they are also fuelled by oil and gas wealth, nationalism, ethnic rivalries and tensions over relations with the West – and, above all, attitudes to Israel. The mosaic of allegiances is complex, dynamic and at first impenetrable, with both unlikely alliances and feuds of exceptional bitterness.

Yet there is a clear way to understand it all. At the heart of it, of course, is the vicious enmity between Islam’s two main sects, the Sunnis and the Shi’ites. These traditions have different legal systems and, crucially, disagree about how their religion should be ruled.

Oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has plunged by 90 percent since the start of the Iran war, new figures reveal.

Iranian military officials have threatened to burn every ship that enters the waterway which carries a fifth of the world’s crude oil supplies transit.

Donald Trump has said tankers could soon be escorted through the strait by the US navy amid fears oil prices will spike across the world.

Energy market intelligence firm Kpler said its analysis shows global traffic has reduced by 90% although there remains some movement.

The Israeli Air Force shared footage of strikes on Iran.

‘Additional Footage from the Missile’s Eye: Air Force Strikes Iran with Over 5,000 Munitions Since Start of Operation,’ the Israeli Air Force wrote on X.

‘Air Force fighter jets continue to deepen air superiority across all of Iran, with an emphasis on the Tehran area.

‘The IDF is now releasing additional footage from the missile’s eye, from a strike carried out to destroy an air defense system of the Iranian terror regime in Tehran.’

British Airways announced it will operate two further flights from Muscat, Oman, to Heathrow, departing on Friday and Saturday.

The airline said it remains unable to take off from Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv for the time being.

In a statement, it said: ‘The UK Government advice has now been updated to note that ‘commercial options are available to depart the region, and if your presence in the UAE is not essential, you may wish to consider departing, if you judge you can access these options safely’.

Sir Keir Starmer has said more than 1,000 British nationals arrived back in the UK on commercial flights from the United Arab Emirates yesterday with further flights expected “in the coming days”.

The Prime Minister told MPs eight flights are expected to arrive in the UK today.

Sri Lanka’s navy has recovered 87 bodies of sailors from an Iranian warship that was sunk by a US submarine off the island, police and defence officials have said.

‘We have collected 87 bodies, and a search is still on for the others who are still missing,’ a navy official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Police and navy spokesmen said 61 sailors were still missing.

Some 32 have been rescued and are being treated at a hospital in the city of Galle, according to officials.

Watch Pete Hegseth as he confirms an American submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship, causing it to sink in the Indian Ocean.

The Defense Secretary was speaking at a Pentagon briefing this morning after details of the attack emerged.

Tankers are seen off the Gulf coast where they are anchoring in open waters

At least 200 ships including oil and gas tankers as well as cargo vessels remain at anchor in open waters as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains paralysed.

Hundreds of other vessels remained outside Hormuz unable to reach ports, shipping data shows.

The waterway is a key artery for around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquified gas supplies.

The Maltese-flagged container ship Safeen Prestige was also damaged by a projectile as it sailed toward the northern end of the Strait of Hormuz earlier, prompting the crew to abandon ship, shipping sources said.

Qatar suspended its gas output and Iraq cut its oil production as both ran out of storage for gas and oil, unable to load it in tankers.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait were also struggling to load oil but it was not yet clear if they cut output.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military is investigating reports of a strike on a girls’ school in Iran.

‘All I know, all I can say is that we’re investigating that,’ he said.

‘We, of course, never targeted civilian targets, but we’re taking a look at investigating that.’