The United States Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean with a torpedo, further escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Hegseth disclosed that the Iranian vessel was destroyed during a naval operation but did not immediately name the ship involved.
However, earlier reports from the Sri Lankan navy indicated that about 140 people were missing after an Iranian vessel, IRIS Dena, went down off the coast of Galle.
The development comes amid intensifying hostilities involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
The United Kingdom is dispatching a warship to the eastern Mediterranean following attacks on a British military base in Cyprus.
Defence sources, however, said the vessel is not expected to depart this week.
Meanwhile, Israel confirmed it struck what it described as “security headquarters” across Tehran, as joint US-Israeli airstrikes continue inside Iran.
Residents in the Iranian capital have expressed growing fear over the sustained bombardment.
“It’s getting worse and worse every day,” one man in Tehran told the BBC.
A three-day funeral ceremony for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, scheduled to begin this evening, has been postponed amid the security situation.
Israeli forces have also extended strikes into Lebanon.
New attacks, believed to have originated from Iran, have been reported in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, raising concerns of a broader regional conflict.
Turkey, meanwhile, said “NATO defences” intercepted and shot down an Iranian missile, underscoring the growing involvement of regional and international actors in the crisis.
The latest developments mark a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict, with fears mounting over its potential spillover across the Middle East and beyond.
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