Photographs showed sailors in crisp whites and a grey frigate gliding in the sea harbour on a clear day. The hashtags spoke of "Bridges of Friendship" and "United Through Oceans". Two weeks later the ship, carrying 130 sailors, lay at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. It had been torpedoed by a US submarine off Sri Lanka's southern coast on 4 March.

Commissioned in 2021, the Dena was a relatively new vessel - a Moudge-class frigate of Iran's Southern Fleet, which patrols the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. According to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the vessel "thought it was safe in international waters" but instead "died a quiet death". Rescue teams from Sri Lanka have recovered at least 87 bodies. Only 32 sailors survived. The sinking marks a dramatic widening of the war between America, Israel and Iran. And, though it occurred in international waters of the Indian Ocean and outside India's jurisdiction, it is an awkward moment for Delhi.

"The war has come to our doorsteps. That is not a good thing", says retired Vice Admiral Arun Kumar Singh. For some strategists, the episode carries broader implications for India's regional standing. Indian strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney wrote on X that the US torpedoing of the Iranian warship in India's "maritime neighbourhood" was "more than a battlefield episode" - calling it a "strategic embarrassment" for Delhi.

"By sinking a vessel returning from an Indian-hosted multilateral exercise, Washington effectively turned India's maritime neighbourhood into a war zone, raising uncomfortable questions about India's authority in its own backyard", Chellaney wrote. Just days before its destruction, the Dena had been a diplomatic guest of the Indian Navy. The ship had travelled to Visakhapatnam, a sun-washed port city on India's east coast, to participate in the International Fleet Review 2026 and Exercise Milan, a large multilateral naval exercise meant to showcase India's growing maritime leadership.

Seventy-four countries and 18 warships took part in the events, which Delhi described as a demonstration of its ambition to become the Indian Ocean's "preferred security partner". Visiting ships at such multilateral exercises usually do not carry a full combat load of live munitions, unless scheduled for a live-fire drill, according to Chellaney. Even during the sea phase, when drills and live firing take place, ships carry only tightly controlled ammunition limited to the specific exercises. Singh, an invitee to the event, recalls seeing the warship and its Iranian sailors in Visakhapatnam just days before its fate changed. (BBC)