Iran’s President calls on citizens to honour sailors killed in US attack

Tehran, Mar 17 (UNI) Iran’s President Pezeshkian on Tuesday urged people of the country to attend the funerals of 84 sailors who died when the Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Dena was sunk by a US torpedo in the Indian Ocean earlier this month.
In a statement carried by the Tasnim News Agency, he described the sailors as “high-ranking martyrs” whose sacrifice would inspire thousands of others to defend the nation.
The coffins of the deceased sailors are expected to be displayed across 34 public squares in Tehran to allow citizens to pay their respects ahead of the funerals.
Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, whose fate remains uncertain after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed he was killed in the strikes that were carried out on March 16, has also written a post on X.
A handwritten note posted on Larijani’s official X account honored the fallen sailors, stating that their memory “will always remain in the hearts of the Iranian people” and that their martyrdom would strengthen Iran’s armed forces for years to come.
The IRIS Dena, with roughly 130 sailors aboard, was struck by a US submarine torpedo on March 4, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Sri Lanka’s southern coast. Sri Lanka reported that 32 sailors survived and would remain in the country, while the bodies of the deceased were repatriated to Iran.
As per reports, it took three minutes for Dena to sink after it was struck by the world’s most powerful torpedo, a Mark 48, launched by the US Navy nuclear-powered submarine USS Charlotte lurking silently nearby. The attack that brought the US war on Iran to the Indian Ocean.
Video released by the US Department of Defense showed the ship being struck, causing the stern to rise before an explosion. The frigate had been returning from a military exercise hosted by India.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the attack as “an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores,” warning that the US would regret the precedent set. UNI