Iran has issued a warning to the United States, suggesting grave repercussions for the Pentagon sinking an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka with a torpedo. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday morning that the U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea and will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set. Araghchi said the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was in international waters and that roughly 130 sailors were struck without warning. Sri Lankan officials reported that over 80 Iranian sailors died, more than 30 are in the hospital, and the rest remain unaccounted for. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the sinking an "atrocity at sea" and a demonstration of America's global reach, noting it is the first time an American torpedo has sunk a ship since World War II. The U.S. Central Command stated that the warship is one of over 20 Iranian ships struck or sunk by American forces. In retaliation, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had struck a U.S. oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf, according to state media. Several tankers have dropped anchors in the Gulf after the IRGC warned that any U.S., Israeli, or European tanker passing through the crucial Strait of Hormuz would "certainly be struck." Global oil and gas prices have surged, and shipping costs have skyrocketed. The conflict has engulfed several other countries and territories, with the U.S. military campaign, Operation Epic Fury, continuing. Six American service members have been killed by Iranian retaliatory strikes. There are growing concerns that the war is depleting U.S. weaponry stockpiles, potentially impacting the U.S.' ability to aid Ukraine. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt maintains the U.S. has more than enough capability to execute Operation Epic Fury and beyond.
