Did India provide intelligence inputs on Iranian warship to US?

Government sources on Friday (March 6) denied reports that the Indian Navy supplied intelligence to the US on an Iranian frigate sunk by an American submarine two days ago, calling the claims “baseless and preposterous.”

There is no question of providing any input to the US on it and the claims are completely baseless, the sources said.

Also read: Explained: What is IRIS Dena and how the US-Iran conflict reached the Indian Ocean

On Thursday, the Indian Navy said it had received a distress call and was assisting the Sri Lanka Navy in search-and-rescue efforts. INS Taringini, located in the vicinity, and a long-range Boeing P-8I Poseidon aircraft were deployed to bolster the operation.

Background

The US sank the Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday (March 4), triggering a sharp reaction from Iran.

Also read: What is the ‘doomsday missile’ that US tested amid Iran war escalation?

A submarine belonging to the United States sank an Iranian warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. The frigate had recently taken part in the Milan multilateral naval exercise, a biennial naval drill organised by the Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam on India’s eastern coast.

Sri Lanka’s response

According to Sri Lankan authorities, the vessel was the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which was returning to Iran after visiting an eastern Indian port.

Also read: West Asia crisis: Remains of 2 Indians aboard oil tanker hit by Iran missile found

The Sri Lankan authorities at Galle said, said 87 bodies were brought to hospital after rescue operations, adding that 32 sailors were rescued, and around 60 crew members are still missing.

(With agency inputs)