An Iranian warship was sunk in a suspected submarine attack with more than 100 crew members feared missing.
The vessel named IRIS Dena, which is armed with heavy guns, missiles, torpedoes, and helicopters, sank 25 miles off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Some 32 people were rescued, with one in a critical condition and seven receiving emergency treatment.
The US military said earlier it had already destroyed 17 Iranian vessels and that its goal was sinking ‘the entire navy’.
The country’s foreign minister Vajitha Herath said Sri Lanka’s navy received information that the ship, IRIS Dena, with 180 onboard was under distress, and that the island nation sent ships and air force planes on a rescue mission.
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An official said: ‘We are keeping up a search, but we don’t know yet what happened to the rest of the crew.’
Although no official causes of the sinking have been revealed, a Sri Lankan military source said the ship was attacked by a submarine which caused an explosion.
Meanwhile the Israeli military has said they have begun ‘broad-scale strikes’ in Tehran following Iranian drone attacks across the Middle East.
The US Consulate in Dubai was hit in a suspected overnight Iranian drone attack last night, with footage showing smoke rising from the building.
Iran has carried out a number ofretaliatory attacks across the Middle East after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israel strikes dubbed Operation Epic Fury on Saturday.
Iran has targeted US military bases across the region, including in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait.
The Dubai authorities has confirmed no one was injured in the latest drone attack.
They said: ‘The competent authorities in Dubai succeeded in extinguishing a limited fire in the vicinity of the U.S. Consulate in Dubai resulting from a drone targeting operation, and the incident did not result in any injuries.’
Smoke coming from United States consulate in Dubai (Picture: @Osint613/X)
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Iran has targeted US military bases and organisations across the region, including in Dubai
(Picture: @MalikAfeef1/X)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the drone struck a car park next to the building, which is also near the British Embassy.
He said: ‘As I came in, I also saw the media reports about Dubai’s consulate.
‘The last update I had was that a drone unfortunately struck a parking lot adjacent to the Chancery building, and then set off a fire in that place.
‘All personnel are accounted for. As you’re aware, we began drawing down personnel from our diplomatic facilities in advance of this.’
The US Embassy in Riyadh after its believed to have been attacked by drones
On Monday Iran also hit the CIA station in Saudia Arabia in suspected drone attacks.
The intelligence agency had pinpointed Khamenei’s location in the attack on his compound in Tehran.
Iran has launched retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, targeting US military bases and organisations.
The CIA station, which was based in the US Embassy in Riyadh, sustained ‘structural damage’ and contaminated the building with smoke.
Crime & Courts Correspondent
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