Three Iranian Warships, Three Dramatic Fates As US-Iran Conflict Spreads In Indian Ocean

Three Iranian naval vessels operating in the Indian Ocean have become symbols of how quickly the escalating U.S.–Iran conflict is spreading across the region. One of them, the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, was torpedoed by a U.S. Navy submarine off Sri Lanka on March 4, sending the warship to the bottom of the ocean and killing dozens of sailors. Ironically, just weeks earlier, the same vessel had participated in International Fleet Review 2026 in India. Meanwhile, two other Iranian ships faced different fates. IRIS Lavan docked in Kochi after technical trouble, while IRIS Bushehr was allowed to dock in Sri Lanka, highlighting the widening geopolitical tensions in India’s maritime neighbourhood.