India rejects 'baseless & preposterous' claims that Navy aided US attack on Iranian frigate

The claims that the Indian Navy provided intelligence to the US on an Iranian frigate that was sunk by a submarine on March 4 are "baseless and preposterous," top government sources said. The sources reportedly said that there is no question of providing any input to the US, which has been targeting Iran even in international waters.

The Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, was torpedoed by a US submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka, killing 87 sailors onboard. The frigate was enroute to Iran after participating in the International Fleet Review and Milan multilateral naval exercise hosted by India.

The Indian Navy said on Thursday that it received a distress call and had joined the Sri Lanka Navy in the search and rescue operation. INS Taringini, which was operating nearby, as well as the long-range P8I maritime patrol aircraft were deployed to augment the search operation.

In a statement, Navy spokesperson said that INS Ikshak had also sailed from Kochi to search for the missing personnel. Until March 5, 32 sailors were rescued by the two Navies.

The attacked marked a major escalation in the ongoing war since the frigate, as per protocol, was unarmed for its participation in the maritime exercise. Iran's foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi called the attack an "atrocity" and has warned that the US "will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set."