US President Donald Trump said American forces chose to sink Iranian ships instead of capturing them during the ongoing conflict, claiming military personnel considered it safer. The remarks come amid disputes over a torpedo attack on an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka.
Trump says US forces prefer destroying Iranian ships rather capturing them
Washington: US President Donald Trump said American forces have been sinking Iranian naval vessels during the ongoing conflict rather than capturing them, claiming military personnel consider it both safer and more effective.
Speaking about the military campaign involving the United States and Israel against Iran, Trump said he had asked military officials why certain Iranian vessels were destroyed instead of being seized.
According to Trump, the response from military personnel was straightforward. They told him that sinking the ships was the preferred option and, in their view, even “more fun,” while also being a safer approach during combat operations.
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Trump also asserted that Iran’s naval forces had suffered major losses during the conflict. He claimed that dozens of Iranian ships had already been destroyed.
He further said the joint military effort by the United States and Israel was dealing a significant blow to Iran’s military infrastructure, including its drone and missile capabilities.
According to the US president, Iran’s aerial and maritime systems are being systematically weakened through ongoing operations.
Tensions escalated further after the sinking of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean earlier this month.
The United States said the vessel was targeted in a submarine strike in international waters near Sri Lanka on March 4. American military officials rejected Iranian claims that the ship was unarmed at the time of the attack.
However, Iranian authorities insist the vessel had been returning from a multinational naval exercise and was not carrying weapons during the incident.
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Iran has strongly condemned the sinking of the warship, describing it as an “atrocity at sea.” Iranian officials said the vessel had been participating in a ceremonial naval exercise before the attack occurred.
Rescue operations carried out by the Sri Lankan navy reportedly saved several sailors, while dozens of bodies were later recovered from the waters.
Meanwhile, two other Iranian vessels: IRIS Bushehr and IRIS Lavan sought assistance and docked in ports in Sri Lanka and India after the incident. The conflicting accounts over the ship’s status have added another layer of tension to the wider US-Iran confrontation, which is increasingly spilling beyond the Middle East into international waters.
