The Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran Esmaeil Baqaei paid tributes to the sailors of IRIS Dena who were killed after the frigate was torpedoed and sunk by a US submarine approximately 40 nautical miles off the coast of Galle, Sri Lanka. He called the US action a war crime and violation of international laws. In a social media post, Baqaei said, they honour the fallen sailors of the Dena frigate, martyred on 4 March far from their homeland. The Dena had been officially invited by the Indian Navy to participate in a joint naval exercise and a port visit.

The post added, the U.S. deliberately obstructed rescue operations for the sailors. It said, the act not only constitutes aggression under UN General Assembly Resolution 3314, but also a grave violation of the laws of war, including Geneva Convention II (1949) and Additional Protocol I (1977). Baqaei said, the Iranian people will neither forget nor forgive this heinous crime.