New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the government over the sinking of an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, warning that the escalating conflict in the region could threaten India’s energy security and strategic interests.

“The world has entered a volatile phase. Stormy seas lie ahead. India’s oil supplies are under threat, with more than 40% of our imports transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The situation is even worse for LPG and LNG. The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing. At a moment like this, we need a steady hand at the wheel. Instead, India has a compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy,” Rahul Gandhi posted in X.

The remarks came after a US submarine torpedoed the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near the coast of Sri Lanka, in a development that has further intensified tensions in the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the attack and warned Washington of consequences.

“The U.S. 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,” he wrote.

“Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set,” he added.

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According to officials, a torpedo fired by a US submarine sank the Iranian warship, prompting a rescue operation by the Sri Lankan Navy. Authorities said 87 bodies were recovered while 32 survivors were rescued from the waters.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described the vessel as one of Iran’s key naval assets and said its destruction formed part of a broader campaign against Iran’s maritime capabilities.

“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon news briefing. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”