WANA (Mar 10) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson has described recent remarks by the President of the United States regarding the sinking of the Iranian warship Dena as a “clear admission of a war crime.”

 

Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shared part of the U.S. president’s speech delivered at a public event, stating that the president said his Secretary of War had rejected a proposal to seize the Iranian warship and instead decided to sink it, saying that doing so would be “more entertaining.” Baghaei described the remarks as “disgusting” and said they amount to an explicit acknowledgment of committing a grave crime against Iranian military personnel.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Office of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran released additional details regarding the incident involving the sinking of the warship Dena.

 

According to the statement, the remains of 84 of the 104 fallen sailors have been identified. With diplomatic efforts by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and cooperation from the government of Sri Lanka, the bodies are expected to be repatriated to Iran in the near future.

 

The statement also said that 20 crew members remain missing despite search operations carried out by Sri Lankan divers, and they are now considered missing in action.

 

According to the Iranian Army, the Dena had been participating in a training mission prior to the outbreak of the Ramadan War (the war imposed on Iran by the US and Israel, which started on February 28 and took place during the month of Ramadan, with Iran having named it accordingly), attending the “Milan Peace Exercise 2026” in India at the invitation of the Indian government. The warship was reportedly attacked by the United States approximately 2,000 miles away from Iran’s territorial waters.

 

In addition to the fatalities, 32 personnel from the Iranian Navy were wounded in the incident. Iranian officials have described the attack as an unjust and terrorist act and have stated that legal and diplomatic measures will be pursued in response to the incident.