Iranian ship sunk by US had been part of international exercise in which US participated

[muriel_volestrangler]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_present_at_International_Fleet_Review_2026

The USA withdrew its ship that had been scheduled to take part, but still sent a patrol aircraft.

India will field a formidable fleet of 45 ships, led by the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant (R11). Indian Navy Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan reported there had been confirmation of attendance from 55 nations, some of them on foot and some attending with naval aircraft. As at February 18, warships from 17 nations had been spotted in the harbor. Germany is participating with a recently-delivered Boeing Poseidon P-8A anti-submarine warfare aircraft.

The United States Navy was to have presented Arleigh Burke Class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG-91), whose arrival was cancelled at the last minute for undisclosed operational reasons. It would have been embarrassing for the Indian hosts to have had Pinckney moored alongside IRINS Dena, should war have broken out with Iran during the period of the fleet review.

The Iranian Navy Moudge-class frigate IRINS Dena (F74) arrived in Visak on February 16, even though it has been confirmed that the Indian Coast Guard is detaining three Iran-associated dark fleet tankers seized last week off Mumbai.

https://maritime-executive.com/article/india-s-fleet-review-begins-with-iran-present-but-not-the-u-s-navy

Held under the theme �Camaraderie, Cooperation, Collaboration�, MILAN 2026 witnessed participation on an unprecedented scale, comprising 42 ships and submarines and, 29 aircraft. These also included 18 ships from the participating Friendly Foreign Countries.

Further, apart from integral helicopters onboard the Friendly Foreign Country ships, maritime patrol aircraft from France, Germany and USA also participated.

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2232853®=3&lang=1

The US strike on an Iranian warship, which killed more than 80 crew members, is illegal, according to Wes Bryant, a former U.S. Air Force Special Operations targeting expert and former chief of civilian harm assessments at the Pentagon.

The Iris Dena, a 1.5 ton warship bearing Iranian missiles, was reportedly transiting home after participating in training exercises hosted by the Indian navy at the time of the strike, according to Indian press. India had convened naval assets from 74 countries for a March exercise.

�Was that warship actively posing a threat or participating in hostiles?� asked Bryant. �You cannot say that this warship was an imminent threat to anyone. By targeting it, is the Trump administration saying that the imminent threat is all of Iran�s government and military?�
...
Bigger picture, lawyers have said that the US operations against Iran are patently illegal, and several have raised concerns about the broader conflict that US aggression has kicked off.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/mar/04/iran-war-live-updates-us-israel-latest-news-strait-of-hormuz-middle-east-crisis?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-69a866888f08b61232069bab#block-69a866888f08b61232069bab

(The "a March exercise" from The Guardian seems a mistake - the exercises were clearly in February. And "1.5 ton" is clearly wrong.)

[Blues Heron]

1. Sucker punch, 80 more murders on Trumps murder account.

[FBaggins]

2. 1500 tons, not 1.5

1.5 would be like a family pontoon boat.

[BeyondGeography]

3. That is vile

And innocent people here will pay for it someday.

[malaise]

8. They breathe vile

That is all

[yaesu]

4. The criminal tRump regime has been ignoring laws for over a year, had an illegal secret government in mar a lago

for over 5 years, they can and will continue to do whatever they want as long as they want, its the new fascist world order. As far as India goes, they are a little confusing to me as they also gladly join russia in war games.

[EX500rider]

5. Was it headed back to the war zone?

If so it'd be stupid to let it get close enough to fire it's Qader anti-ship missiles, they have a range of 300km.

40km off Sri Lanka's southern coast puts it too close to the US carrier group currently in the Arabian Sea also.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. about 2000 miles from the "war zone"

But don't let the Trump regime hear you say "war zone" - it's not a "war", so that they don't have to consult Congress. But since it's not a "war", they shouldn't be killing people 2000 miles away. "Too close" is a fuzzy concept for something that I bet you can't yourself locate to within 300km.

[EX500rider]

7. And where exactly in the Arabian sea is the US carrier Abraham Lincoln right now?

Sri Lanka borders on the Arabian sea and the Iranian frigate (they can call it a "Destroyer" but at 1,500 tons, no) was just 40km south of Sri Lanka. As the IRIS Dena could do 30kts (35mph) she could close the distance rather fast. In 24 hrs she could cover 840 miles.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. That's my point - neither you nor I can locate it to within 300km

so claiming the Iranian ship was "too close" would be bullshit.

[EX500rider]

10. The carrier groups in the Arabian Sea and that's where the Iranian vessel was headed

Waiting until it's in firing range is stupid

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. But it's not war. "Sea" here means a million and a half square miles

I mean, if you're advocating killing anyone in the Iranian military that you can, then go ahead, choose that side.

People with some humanity or respect for international law might contact the vessel and demand it puts into a neutral port until the "confrontation" is resolved, and warn that if it doesn't, it would be regarded as belligerent.

[EX500rider]

12. "if you're advocating killing anyone in the Iranian military that you can"

I advocate not letting belligerent warships with anti-ship cruise missiles too close to US warships, esp carriers.

She didn't need to be told to turn to a neutral port, if she didn't want to be sunk that was her only option.
She was headed to Iran instead, what did her Captain think was going to happen?