The Opposition Congress on Thursday expressed its concern over the incident in which the Iranian frigate Iris Dina was targeted by US strikes in international waters off Sri Lanka. At least 87 people were killed after an American torpedo sank the ship. The party said the incident “has alarmingly expanded the scope of the conflict to include our immediate neighbourhood, threatening further escalation on our doorstep.”
The Congress said the frigate’s sailors were “guests of honour” as they participated in the International Fleet Review and Milan 2026 in India until February 25, 2026. “As per established exercise protocols, she was likely defenseless at the time of the attack. Moreover, as per Articles 95 and 96 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which India has ratified, IRIS Dena enjoys sovereign immunity on board. The party said in its statement that it attacked In which the BJP-led central government was silent on the matter: “The attack could not credibly meet the criteria set for self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, which requires that it must be clearly proven, proportionate and attributable to a specific armed attack.”
“Given that India has always been a cybersecurity provider in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the silence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is a modest abdication of India’s responsibilities as a maritime power,” the report said.
Read the full text of the Congressional Statement on the Sinking of the IRIS Dena
Earlier, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, said on Thursday that India is “in some way being dragged into war.”
Shortly after the attack on Wednesday, IRIS Dena issued a distress call south of the Sri Lankan coast. At least 87 sailors were killed and dozens are still missing.
“It is very unfortunate… They were our guests. They had come to participate in a naval exercise (Milan) and the ship carrying the crew was returning (to Iran) when it was attacked. Now, somehow, our nation is being dragged somewhere into (the war). I cannot say what will happen next, it is not my specialty but here (in Jammu and Kashmir) people are definitely worried because many students and our people are in Iran,” he told reporters.
