The American Torpedo Sinks Iranian Warship, Sounding the Alarm

According to a report by Reference News Network on March 9, Agence France-Presse reported on March 6 that a U.S. submarine recently attacked an Iranian warship with a torpedo during the Middle East conflict, raising the critical question of who controls the seas in wartime.

The Iranian frigate "Dena" sank on the 4th in international waters near Sri Lanka, resulting in the deaths of at least 86 crew members. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the incident a "massacre."

This marks the first time since 1945 that the U.S. Navy has sunk a ship with a torpedo.

Washington subsequently released a video allegedly captured by a periscope showing the submarine launching a torpedo at the warship, as well as footage of the warship sinking nearly vertically.

Professor Alessio Patarano from King's College London stated that the "Dena" sank "in less than 20 minutes, with no chance of escape."

"Submarine warfare has never disappeared; it has just been absent for a long time because there have been no conflicts between fleets since the 1980s," Patarano added.

The most recent confirmed wartime torpedo attack dates back to 1982, when the British submarine "Conqueror" sank the Argentine cruiser "General Belgrano" during the Falklands War.

Regarding this torpedo attack, an unnamed European military source specializing in submarines stated that the torpedo exploded beneath the "Dena," and that the frigate's sonar range may have been too limited to detect the threat.

The source said that submarines have covert maneuverability and the capability to launch torpedoes from tens of kilometers away, making them the "ultimate wartime weapon." When evenly matched navies engage in surface combat, if "the radar and missile ranges are roughly equivalent and in a symmetrical situation," then this capability could play a decisive role.

Patarano added that once a maritime conflict occurs, countries with advanced underwater capabilities will enjoy an "objective advantage."

Another unnamed European military source stated that launching an attack far from the center of conflict is a way to "demonstrate power to major adversaries." The source said, "The U.S. military attacking this ship in international waters... means 'We Americans dominate the air, sea, and underwater. We are everywhere, able to find you and eliminate you.'" (Translated by Ge Xuelai)