US sinking of Iranian ship raises questions of legality

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The sinking of an Iranian warship Tuesday by a U.S. submarine thousands of miles from the war zone in international waters raises questions about whether the attack was legal under the rules of war.

Military law experts said the Iranian ship, which was in the Indian Ocean in international waters off Sri Lanka, would have been a lawful target had the U.S. declared war. The fact that it hasn’t done so makes the issue a murky one.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the attack an “atrocity.”

"The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set," he said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-sinking-iranian-ship-raises-100345773.html

[enough]

1. Raises questions of humanity.

[sarisataka]

2. I wish someone could explain

why there is so much discussion about the legality of sinking a warship, yet there is not any discussion about the legality of Iran attacking unarmed civilian tankers.

It seems to me if attacking a possibly unarmed warship is a WAR CRIME, attack a civilian ship that doesn't have weapons should at least rate a comment.

[Omnipresent]

3. I hope they know, we don't want to pay in anyway for trump's stupid mistakes.

We are captives of the trump crime family. So if i could address the Iranian government: Please direct your personal anger towards trump, he is the one who wants a war, not us.
Please leave the rest of us out of it.

[UTUSN]

4. Adding to the list.

[Happy Hoosier]

5. It IS a military target... but the article's point...

is that while it is a legitimate target in times of war, we haven't actually declared a war.

More Trump criminality.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Hegseth's 'quiet death' strike may constitute a war crime: analysis

Hegseth is bragging about committing a war crime. Hegseth sank an unarmed ship in international waters. That is a war crime

Hegseth's 'quiet death' strike may constitute a war crime: analysis

— #TuckFrump (@realtuckfrumper.bsky.social) 2026-03-06T00:50:20.000Z

https://www.rawstory.com/pete-hegseth-2675597881/

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's latest "quiet death" strike may amount to a war crime, according to one analysis.

This week, it was revealed that the U.S. torpedoed an Iranian warship called the "IRIS Dena" off the coast of Sri Lanka while it was returning home from planned military exercises with India. The torpedo killed more than 80 Iranian soldiers. It was the first time in 80 years that the U.S. had sunk an enemy warship in international waters, according to reports, and sparked outrage from Iranian officials like foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who described it as an "atrocity."

In the wake of the operation, Hegseth described it as "quiet death" during his public remarks on Wednesday, Time Magazine reported.

Mary Trump, a psychologist and author, argued in a new Substack essay that Hegseth's comments revealed the "reckless and deeply troubling mentality guiding the Trump regime’s military decisions."

"Legal experts have noted that sinking a ship in international waters, particularly one reportedly unarmed and returning from a training exercise, could constitute a war crime under international law," she wrote.

Hegseth fired all of the senior JAG officers because he wanted to have free hand to conduct his attacks without having those darn lawyers telling him that he is breaking international law