Iran navy vows 'deadly retaliation' over Dena ship sinking Iranian Navy commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani on Tuesday said that it will retaliate against the killing of at least 87 sailors off Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, Press TV reported.  “We will not forget the enemy’s crime, and we will exact retribution for the blood of our martyrs,” Irani was quoted as saying by Iran’s English-language news channel Press TV. “The enemy should know that we will punish it with deadly strikes from where it least expects,” he said. “Although today we mourn our loved ones, by the grace of God, we have brought the enemy to its knees,” he added. On March 4, a US submarine sank the Iranian Navy’s IRIS Dena vessel in international waters off the coast of Galle in Sri Lanka, while sailing back to Iran after participating in a joint navy exercise with India.