Iranian warship targeted by US not carrying any weapons, says Iranian official

The Iranian warship, which sank in international waters off Sri Lanka's coast after a US submarine attack, was not carrying any weapons, a senior Iranian official said on Thursday, describing America's targeting of the vessel as against international law.

The Iranian ship -- IRIS Dena -- was returning home after participating in the Milan multilateral naval exercise hosted by India when it was attacked early Wednesday. At least 87 Iranian sailors were killed in the attack, according to Sri Lankan authorities.

"The targeting of the Iranian ship is against international law, as they did not possess any type of weapons," Ayatollah Dr Abdul Majeed Hakeemelahi, the representative of Iran's supreme leader in India, told PTI in an interview.

"They (Iranian sailors) came here for some exercise...They wanted to go back to Iran (after the end of exercise), and they were attacked by the US," he said.

"This is against humanity, against morality, and against justice," he added.

On the current conflict, Hakeemelahi said that Iran is defending itself.

"We were negotiating with the United States of America. In Oman, we negotiated in good faith, and we were at the table. We didn't leave the table. But during the negotiation, they attacked us," he said.

He admitted that many commanders have been killed in recent joint US-Israeli airstrikes and added that hundreds of civilians, including children, were also killed in attacks.

"They attacked one primary school, killing 7 to 12-year-old students. At least 173 students were killed," he said.

"They attacked Gandhi Hospital in Iran, and they killed a lot of children and babies. They are killing our civilians even in Tehran, in Isfahan. They are attacking our civilians, but the Iranian people will never accept humiliation...and they will fight till the last drop of blood," he said.

When asked about Iran's attacks on targets inside the Gulf countries, Hakeemelahi said, "We have informed our neighbours that we are not attacking their countries, but we are attacking the US bases."

"We have a very good relationship with our neighbours. We have informed them that the foreigner in this region is the United States. They are from far away. We don't have any other option for our defence. We are attacking these (US) bases, which are located in their countries," he said.

"We hope that they understand it and they know the situation," the Iranian cleric added.

When asked how the war could end, he said that those who started the war have to stop it. "We didn't start the war."

"All countries are affected by this conflict. I'm sure that the wise people, the presidents, the officials of the countries, have to gather and stop these attacks," Hakeemelahi said, without naming any person or country.

He said that the Iranian leadership have repeatedly said that Iran doesn't want to have nuclear weapons. "They will not accept, even when the international organisations and nuclear agency have several times said there is no evidence of Iran developing nuclear weapons," he added.

When asked about the reported closure of the Strait of Hormuz, he said, "We are very sad about this situation, which is created by the US, by Israel."

On ties with India, Hakeemelahi said the two countries have enjoyed good relations for the last 3,000 years. "It is very, very strong and cannot be damaged by something easily. Our relationship is more than the age of majority of the countries in the world," he added.

He said the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei always insisted on maintaining a good relationship with India.

On the future of Chabahar port, he said, "We are still on it."

"We hope that after these conditions and this war, we can work together. Both countries will benefit from it," he added.

The Chabahar port is being developed by India and Iran to boost connectivity and trade ties. Both countries are also strongly pitching for making the Chabahar port an integral part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

The INSTC is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode transport project for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.