A day after a US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in international waters off Sri Lanka's coast, the Congress on Thursday said it is shocking that there has been no response from the Modi government and claimed that never before has the Indian government looked so "timid and fearful". Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also said maybe it should not be surprising since the Modi government has still not broken its silence over the targeted assassinations in Iran. In a significant escalation of the West Asia crisis, a US submarine on Wednesday torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in international waters off Sri Lanka's coast when it was returning after participating in the Milan naval exercise, a multilateral wargame hosted by India.
In a post on X, Ramesh said the Indian Navy's flagship multilateral exercise, MILAN, was first held in 1995 and the 13th edition was held in Visakhapatnam from February 19 to February 25, 2026 with 18 warships from other countries, including the USA and Iran participating. The exercise was inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Ramesh pointed out. "This makes yesterday's sinking of the Iranian warship that took part in the Milan exercise by a US Navy submarine in the Indian Ocean some 40 nautical miles south of Galle in Sri Lanka all the more extraordinary. The Iranian warship was on its way back home," he said. This US action has enormous implications for India as well and it is shocking that there has been no official response to it till now, Ramesh said. "Maybe it should not be surprising since the Modi government has still not broken its silence over the targeted assassinations in Iran. Never before has the Indian government looked so timid and fearful," the Congress leader said.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, confirming the strike, said at a Pentagon media briefing that it was the first sinking of an enemy warship by a torpedo since World War II. The Associated Press, quoting the Sri Lankan Navy, reported that 87 bodies were recovered and that 32 people were rescued following the sinking of the warship IRIS Dena. The incident marks a major escalation of the conflict between the US and Iran outside of the Persian Gulf and throws up questions relating to maritime security in the Indian Ocean that is largely considered as the backyard of the Indian Navy. The US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks mainly targeting Israel and American military bases in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. In the last few days, the conflict has widened significantly with attacks and counter-attacks by both sides. India has called for resolving the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.