Iran army chief says US attack on navy frigate 'will not go unanswered’

ANKARA

Iran’s Army Commander Amir Hatami said Saturday that a US attack on an Iranian naval frigate in the Indian Ocean “will not go unanswered.”

Hatami made the remarks while commenting on the March 4 attack on the Iranian frigate “IRIS Dena,” according to Iran’s official news agency IRNA.

He said 104 Iranian sailors were killed in the attack, adding: “The blood of these 104 martyrs will not go in vain.”

The Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was attacked by a US submarine in international waters in the Indian Ocean while returning from the Milan 2026 naval exercises held in India.

Since Israel and the US launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, killing some 1,200 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hostilities have escalated.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

* Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul.