US strikes Iranian warship off Sri Lankan coast
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 4 March 2026
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Sri Lankan navy says it has rescued 32 people after a distress call from the Iranian IRIS Dena, with around 140 people on board currently missing. We also hear from Iraq's Kurdistan region where reports suggest the US could back the Kurdish armed groups to cross over into Iran in a ground operation.
Also on the programme: the latest from the onflict in the Middle East, with a lineup of who is in the running to take over from Iran's Supreme Leader; the controversial 'Moonies' church that has contravened the law in Japan, and proof that a woman's brain does change during pregnancy.
(Photo: Iranian warship IRIS Dena is seen in the Bay of Bengal during International Fleet Review held at Visakhapatnam in India on 18 February, 2026. Credit: Associated Press)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:09.3 | Hello and welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:13.1 | We're coming to you live from London. |
| 0:15.1 | I'm Leila Nathu. |
| 0:16.4 | As the conflict in the Middle East enters its fifth day, |
| 0:19.7 | we will be bringing you the latest developments in Iran and across the region. |
| 0:23.8 | But we will also be looking at other stories from around the world as well on the program. |
| 0:29.3 | But let us begin in Washington, where in the past couple of hours, the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegesith has been speaking at a news conference at the Pentagon. |
| 0:38.6 | He confirmed that the U.S. had sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean off the coast |
| 0:43.7 | of Sri Lanka. |
| 0:45.0 | Yesterday in the Indian Ocean, and we'll play it on the screen there, an American submarine |
| 0:51.6 | sunk in Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. |
| 0:58.1 | Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo, quiet death. |
| 1:02.6 | The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II. |
| 1:07.9 | Well, the Sri Lanka Navy told the BBC that it received a distress signal from the vessel, |
| 1:13.2 | and by the time they arrived, they saw only a few lifeboats. |
| 1:16.9 | Sri Lanka's deputy foreign minister has said at least 80 sailors were killed. |
| 1:21.5 | Dozens are still thought to be missing. |
| 1:23.9 | Pete Hexif told reporters that the US and Israel were just getting started and warned Iran that more waves were coming. |
| 1:31.4 | We are only four days into this, and the results have been incredible. |
| 1:37.8 | Historic, really. Only the United States of America could lead this, only us. |
| 1:44.0 | But when you add the Israeli defense forces, |
... |
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