US wanted to kill IRIS Dena crew, says Iranian sailor who survived March 4 attack

An Iranian sailor who was on board the ill-fated IRIS Dena, the warship sunk by the US on March 4, has alleged that the “main goal” of the US was to kill the crew and not just damage the ship.

Hamed Momeneh, one of the sailors who survived the attack, has said, “If their aim had only been to damage the ship, they could have targeted other parts (of the ship), but their main goal was to kill the crew.”

Even so, we stood firm to the end. For us, the Dena was like the soil of Iran, and leaving it had no meaning. The Iran Embassy in India has shared the details on X along with pictures how the sailors on board IRIS Dena were welcomed by their families in the city of Shiraz.

IRIS Dena was hit in International waters just outside the Sri Lankan port of Galle. 124 Iranian sailors lost their lives.

The vessel was in international waters, away from any combat zone, when it came under attack by US forces. The Iran embassy said the attack was reportedly described by US President Donald Trump as “just for fun” .

IRIS Dena was part of Exercise Milan (Feb 19-26) at the port of Visakhapatnam in India to take part. While returning home, and as the ship was sailing in international waters of the Indian Ocean, it came under attack.

The account by Hamid Momeneh said, “It was around 3:00-3:30 am when IRIS Dena was suddenly attacked. The attack was completely against international maritime laws. It was not a war zone, and we had received no warning,” he said.

When the first torpedo hit, all personnel were at their posts, and fortunately at that moment we had no casualties. Everyone stood their ground until the end.

The sailors remained with the vessel until 11 pm, after which they were forced to swim for some distance in the ocean to reach areas near the coast of Sri Lanka, the Irtanin sailor added.