ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday slammed as an “atrocity of sea” the targeting of an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka by the US the day prior, saying Washington will “bitterly regret” the precedent set. 

On Wednesday, a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship in international waters near Sri Lanka. The frigate had been on a friendly visit to India and was on its way back. 

“The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning,” Araghchi wrote on X.

At least 87 people were killed in the strike, according to Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, while 61 remain missing, and 32 sailors were rescued. 

“Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set,” Araghchi stressed.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hailed the attack in a speech, stating it was the “first ship that was sunk by a torpedo since World War II, and as [US] President [Donald] Trump said, more and larger waves are coming.”

The attack was a part of a larger military campaign launched by the US and Israel against Iran on Saturday. The strikes have killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in addition to several other top Iranian officials.

At least 1,097 Iranian residents were killed since the beginning of the conflict, including 181 children under 10, “with hundreds more deaths and injuries under review,” Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on Wednesday.

The Iranian side responded by launching ballistic missiles and drones towards US bases across the region, killing at least six US personnel, while causing heavy material damage and additional casualties in the countries hosting the bases.