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.