Monthly Archives: August 2018

The Indian Navy, reacting to the sinking of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena, said on Thursday a surveillance plane was deployed immediately while an Indian warship had reached the site by 4 pm yesterday. Also, a specialised survey vessel was on its way, the Navy said.

A distress call was received at the maritime rescue and coordination centre in Colombo in the early hours of March 4. The Iranian ship was operating 20 nautical miles (38 km) West of Galle when it was hit by a torpedo fired from a US submarine in the search and rescue region under Sri Lankan responsibility.

The Navy promptly launched its SAR efforts commencing with a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at 10 am on March 4 to augment the search efforts led by Sri Lanka.

Another aircraft with air droppable life rafts was also kept on standby for immediate deployment. INS Tarangini, which was operating in the vicinity, was deployed for aiding the rescue efforts and arrived in search area by 4 pm on March 4. By this time, SAR had been undertaken by the Sri Lankan navy and other agencies.

Meanwhile, INS Ikshak has also sailed from Kochi to augment search efforts and continues to remain in the area to search for missing personnel as a humanitarian measure. INS Ikshak is a survey vessel (large) class ship, it features advanced hydrographic survey equipment, including ROVs and side-scan sonars, for mapping ocean depths and supporting humanitarian. Coordination with the Sri Lankan side on search and rescue efforts was ongoing, the Navy said.

A day after a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka — not far from Indian waters — the foreign minister of Iran, Sayed Abbas Araghchi, warned that the US would “pay bitterly” for targeting a ship in international waters.

India on its part debunked claims being made on social media that the US Navy was using Indian ports to launch attacks on Iran.

A clip being shared on social media about a US-based channel named ‘OAN’ hosting a show in which a participant identified as Doug MacGregor, a former adviser to the US Secretary of Defence, is seen making claims that Indian ports were being used by the US navy.

The Ministry of External Affairs put out a post on X said “these claims are fake and false. We caution you against such baseless and fabricated comments”.

Meanwhile, Araghchi put out a post on social media platform X on Thursday saying “the US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores.”

The Frigate IRIS Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning, said the Iran foreign minister adding “Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set.”

Yesterday, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed that a US submarine fired a torpedo and had sunk an Iranian navy vessel off Sri Lanka.

Former Indian Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) says: “India had no responsibility for the Iranian ship after it had left Vishakhapatnam and it was in international waters…however, being a partner and friend, the US should have thought about India’s position”. The Admiral was hinting that the US should have avoided the hit on the ship close to India.

The Iranian ship was aware of the risk, it could have sought a safe harbour in India, Admiral Parkash added.

Rear Admiral MD Suresh (retd), a former Chief of Staff of the Southern Naval Command, argued Laws of Armed Conflict permit such actions, as carried out by the US.

On why Sri Lanka stepped up rescue efforts and India did not, Rear Admiral Suresh said oceans are distributed among maritime nations, and their respective abilities, into search and rescue regions. Sri Lanka has an effective search and rescue organisation. The Lankans handled it all on their own as they could, and did not need assistance.

The West Asia conflict has reached close to Indian coast. The strike today at sea was almost 4000 km away from Iran, significantly expanding the radius of the war. Already, fearing Iranian missile strikes, several US warships have moved eastward towards India. These ships are in international waters. India has denied that any US navy assets were using Indian ports.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday that three Australian defence personnel were on board a United States submarine that sank an Iranian warship with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean, but stressed they did not take part in the attack.

The strike, which occurred off the southern coast of Sri Lanka this week, marked the first time since World War Two that the United States has sunk an enemy vessel with a torpedo. Sri Lankan authorities recovered the bodies of 87 sailors.

Albanese told Sky News the Australians were on board as part of training linked to the AUKUS defence pact between Australia, the US and Britain, designed to help Australia acquire and build nuclear-powered submarines.

No Australian personnel have participated in any offensive action against Iran, Albanese said.

“These are long-standing third country arrangements that have been in place for a long period of time,” Albanese said.

Australia, a close US ally, has ruled out any military role in the conflict, but has said it would support efforts aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

The conflict in the Middle East escalated on Thursday, with with US and Israeli jets hitting multiple areas across Iran, while Gulf cities came under renewed bombardment. —with agencies

India gets 30-day waiver from US to buy Russian oil amid Iran war

March 6, 2026 8:15 am

Amid the escalating conflict with Iran, the US said it is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil.

President Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded.

To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil.…