‘Bit of treachery’: US attack on IRIS Dena undermines Indian security ties (www.theguardian.com)
from MicroWave@lemmy.world to world@lemmy.world on 16 Mar 10:44
https://lemmy.world/post/44328697

Defence analyst says torpedo strike is a ‘humiliation’ for Modi’s government that disregarded a US defence partner

The attack on the warship left senior military figures and analysts in the region stunned, provoking fears that Donald Trump’s Middle East war will have wider ramifications for the geopolitically sensitive Indian Ocean region.

Iran called the attack an “atrocity” but the Trump administration was insistent that Dena was a fair target. In a press conference, the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, did not disguise his glee as he said Dena had thought it was safe until it died a “quiet death”. That same week, Trump boasted of the strategy by the US military to strike, rather than capture, about 50 Iranian ships in the conflict. “They like sinking them better,” said the US president, chuckling.

India’s former chief of naval staff, Adm Arun Prakash, said the attack on Dena was legal as it took place in international water but was nonetheless “shocking” on multiple fronts.

“The US navy could have sunk this ship anywhere on the way back to the Persian Gulf,” said Prakash. “We are supposed to be friends and partners of the USA. To bring the war to right to our doorstep was a perverse act.”

#world