The ship sank in the waters near Sri Lanka after a US submarine torpedoed it amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East
NEW DELHI – The intensifying conflict between the US-Israel and Iran has “reached our backyard,” Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP, Rahul Gandhi, said on Thursday. Referring to the sinking of the Iranian warship, IRIS Dena, by the US in the Indian Ocean, the Congress leader also questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue
IRIS Dena, one of Iran’s newest warships, sank after a US submarine torpedoed it in the waters near Sri Lanka on Wednesday. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the incident and said that it gave the vessel a “quiet death”.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi wrote, “The world has entered a volatile phase. Stormy seas lie ahead.” He claimed, “India’s oil supplies are under threat, with more than 40% of our imports transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The situation is even worse for LPG and LNG.”
“The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the prime minister has said nothing. At a moment like this, we need a steady hand at the wheel. Instead, India has a compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy,” the Congress leader added.
Enormous Implications
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that Washington’s action has “enormous implications for India”, adding that it is shocking that there has been no official response to the sinking till now.
Ramesh took a swipe at the Centre and said that no official statement on the matter should not be a surprise since the Modi government “has not still broken its silence over the targeted assassinations in Iran”, referring to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the recent US-Israeli strikes.
“Never before has the Indian government looked so timid and fearful,” he said in a post on X.
A report in Hindustan Times quoted authoritative sources as claiming that although Iranians say that IRIS Dena was a “guest of the Indian Navy”, the ship did not ask for any help after war broke out on February 28.
Iran has lashed out at the US for sinking its warship in international waters without warning. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a firm warning to Washington, saying, “Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set.”
