GEAR MAG

It was true, and potential targets of the 2024 scheme included now-President Donald Trump, then-President Joe Biden and former presidential candidate and ex-U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, the man told jurors at his attempted terrorism trial in New York on Wednesday. But he insisted his actions were driven by fear for loved ones in Iran, and he figured he'd be apprehended before anything came of the scheme.

"My family was under threat, and I had to do this," the defendant,Asif Merchant, testified through an Urdu interpreter. "I was not wanting to do this so willingly."

Merchant said he had anticipated getting arrested before anyone was killed, intended to cooperate with the U.S. government and had hoped that would help him get a green card.

U.S. authorities were, indeed, on to him - the supposed hit men he paid were actually undercover FBI agents - and he wasarrested on July 12, 2024, a day before an unrelatedattempt on Trump's lifein Butler, Pennsylvania.  During a search, investigators said they found a handwritten note that contained the codewords for the various aspects of the plot, CBS Newspreviously reported.

Merchant did sit for voluntary FBI interviews, but he ultimately ended up with a trial, not a cooperation deal.

"You traveled to the United States for the purpose of hiring Mafia members to kill a politician, correct?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Nina Gupta asked during her turn questioning Merchant Wednesday in a Brooklyn federal court.

"That's right," Merchant replied, his demeanor as matter-of-fact as his testimony was unusual.

The trial is unfolding amid the less than week-oldIran war, which killed Iranian Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khameneiin a strike that Trump summed up as "I got him before he got me." Jurors are instructed to ignore news pertaining to the case.

The Iranian government has denied plotting to kill Trump or other U.S. officials.

Merchant, 47, had a roughly 20-year banking career in Pakistan before getting involved in an array of businesses: clothing, car sales, banana exports, insulation imports. He openly has two families, one in Pakistan and the other in Iran - where, he said, he was introduced around the end of 2022 to a Revolutionary Guard intelligence operative. They initially spoke about getting involved in a hawala, an informal money transfer system, Merchant said.

Merchant testified that his periodic visits to the U.S. for his garment business piqued the interest of his Revolutionary Guard contact, who trained him on countersurveillance techniques.

The U.S. deems the Revolutionary Guard a "foreign terrorist organization." Formally called the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the force has been prominent in Iran under Khamenei.

Merchant said the handler told him to seek U.S. residents interested in working for Iran. Then came another assignment: Look for a criminal to arrange protests, steal things, do some money laundering, "and maybe have somebody murdered," Merchant recalled.

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"He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he told me - he named three people: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley," he added.

In 2024, multiple sources familiar with the investigationtold CBS NewsMerchant planned to assassinate current and former government officials across the political spectrum.

Merchant allegedly sketched out the plot on a napkin inside his New York hotel room, prosecutors said, and told the individual "that there would be 'security all around' the person" they were planning to kill.

"No other option"

After U.S. immigration agents pulled Merchant aside at the Houston airport in April 2024, searched his possessions and asked about his travels to Iran, he concluded that he was under surveillance. But still he researched Trump rally locations, sketched out a plot for a shooting at a political rally, lined up the supposed hit men and scrambled together $5,000 from a cousin to pay them a "token of appreciation."

He even reported back to his Revolutionary Guard contact, sending observations - fake, Merchant said - tucked into a book that he shipped to Iran through a series of intermediaries.

Merchant said he "had no other option" than to play along because the handler had indicated that he knew who Merchant's Iranian relatives were and where they lived.

In a court filing this week, prosecutors noted that Merchant didn't seek out law enforcement to help with his purported predicament before he was arrested. He testified that he couldn't turn to authorities because his handler had people watching him.

Prosecutors also said that in his FBI interviews, Merchant "neglected to mention any facts that could have supported" an argument that he acted under duress.

Merchant told jurors Wednesday that he didn't think agents would believe his story, because their questions suggested "they think that I'm some type of super-spy."

"And are you a super-spy?" defense lawyer Avraham Moskowitz asked.

"No," Merchant said. "Absolutely not."

Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing

Watch: Kristi Noem's opening statement at Senate Judiciary Committee on DHS

Key details on Iran war on Day 4 of conflict

The National People's Congress, ‌China's rubber‑stamp legislature, rolled out its Five‑Year Plan outlining goals for growth, budgets, industrial policy and defence - signalling Xi's determination ​to propel the world's second-biggest economy toward technological dominance.

Here are the main highlights from the NPC:

GDP, BUDGET PRIORITIES

China is looking to grow its economy at a 4.5%-5% pace, a touch below the 5% rate achieved last year, opening the door to greater efforts to rebalance the economy.

Beijing also plans steady stimulus to ‌rev up an economy stuck in ⁠a lower post-pandemic gear, setting a budget deficit of 4.0% of gross domestic product, similar to last year.

HIGH-TECH DRIVE AS US RIVALRY SHARPENS

Aiming for technological supremacy amid ⁠a fierce rivalry with the U.S., Beijing is accelerating efforts to achieve greater tech self-reliance; and as the world's largest producer of rare earths, plans are also afoot to strengthen the competitiveness of these crucial minerals ​used in ​products ranging from electric vehicles to aircraft engines and ​defence technologies.

DEFENCE CAPACITY

China will improve combat ‌readiness and accelerate the development of "advanced combat capabilities", Premier Li Qiang said, boosting defence spending by 7% in 2026.

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Military observers are watching closely as Beijing pushes to modernise its forces by 2035 and project military power amid the backdrop of rising regional tensions, including over Taiwan, and global geopolitical strains.

FINANCIAL SYSTEM

China will inject 300 billion yuan ($43.59 billion) into state-owned banks this year and deepen reforms of state-owned ‌financial enterprises, moving to bolster its financial system amid a ​prolonged property crisis and deflationary pressure.

Promising a "childbirth-friendly society" in the ​next five years, Beijing aims to address ​concerns over employment, education and medical care as an ageing and rapidly ‌shrinking population complicates its larger economic goals.

FOOD SECURITY

Grain ​production capacity will be ​raised to around 725 million metric tons over 2026-2030 in efforts to meet the nation's long-term food security objectives, highlighting its heavy reliance on imports of key agricultural products such as ​soybeans, with the U.S. its ‌second-largest supplier.

EMISSION GOALS

The government plans to accelerate cuts in carbon intensity over the next five ​years, marking a shift from targeting energy intensity of its economy to directly targeting ​carbon intensity.

(Reporting by China bureau.Compiled by Shri Navaratnam)

Thunder Knicks Basketball

Holmgren tied a career high with six 3-pointers and Lu Dort added 16 points for the Thunder, who recovered after the Knicks took the lead with a 40-point third quarter, going back ahead early in the fourth and nursing a small advantage the rest of the way.

Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby missed tying 3-point attempts on the final possession as Oklahoma City won its fourth straight and snapped New York's three-game winning streak.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Knicks. Brunson had 16 points and a season-high 15 assists, but shot just 5 for 18. Anunoby also had 16 points.

The first meeting of the season between the NBA champions and a Knicks team that fell two wins short of facing them in the NBA Finals had a high level of intensity. The Knicks thought referees missed what should have been Gilgeous-Alexander's third foul in the first quarter after he crashed into Brunson, with an irate Mike Brown getting his first technical as Knicks coach.

Oklahoma City led 63-48 with 8:45 left in the third before the Knicks tied it with a 24-9 surge that Brunson capped when his 3-pointer got a friendly bounce in. Mikal Bridges' 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds to go gave New York an 80-77 lead.

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Holmgren had 14 points in the first quarter, making four 3-pointers and going 5 for 7 overall — with the 7-foot-1 forward's two misses on jump shots that were blocked.

Oklahoma City led 44-31 but didn't score again for the next five minutes to let New York back into it. Holmgren ended the drought with two 3s in the final 46 seconds and it was 50-40 at halftime.

Up next

Thunder: Host Golden State on Saturday.

Knicks: Visit Denver on Friday to open a five-game trip.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Australia F1 GP Auto Racing

F1heads into a new era this year starting Sunday at the Australian Grand Prix, with unprecedented changes.

Verstappen has been the most outspoken against the change so far, calling the new cars "anti-racing" and "Formula E on steroids" during testing.

But at Melbourne's Albert Park, Verstappen said there was simply no point for the sport to try and regulate against the myriad of unknowns, which includes the start on Sunday, when it is expected that some drivers will have to rev their engines for around 10 seconds to spool up their turbos before lights out.

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"Yeah, a bit late with that, right," Verstappen said. "The amount of money that has been invested as well into these regulations, they will be around for a while. I mean, you could have seen this coming — and suddenly now things are raised."

Verstappen, though, is thrilled with the initial performance of his Red Bull power unit on the squad's debut as a power unit manufacturer; an endlessly complex task. Even if he's none the wiser on his Red Bull team's place in the pecking order — despite it expected to be amongst the top four with rivals Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.

"I'm very happy with what we did in preseason," he said. "It's been a really great and proud moment for everyone — how the whole project came together between the engine and the car. I was really positively surprised with how basically everything felt."

AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

The Middle East has been plunged into a new era of volatility afterjoint U.S.-Israeli strikeson Iran since Feb. 28 have reportedlykilled more than 1,000 people, includingmore than 150 schoolchildren, and triggered a wave of Iranian retaliatory attacks across the region.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior Iranian officials have been killed in the strikes, leaving a power vacuum in Tehran. The fate of Iran's theocratic government is uncertain, and the Trump Administration has openly called for regime change. The strikes also collapsed nascent U.S. talks with Iran over the future of their nuclear program, which were earlier derailed by the12-day warbetweenIran and Israellast June.

"We're doing this, not for now, we're doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission," President Donald Trump said in a video statement after launching the attack, dubbed "Operation Epic Fury." He warned of potential American casualties—"that often happens in war," he said—andseveral U.S. servicemembershave already been killed in the days since.

The spiraling conflict has also endangered millions of lives across the Middle East and left tens of thousands of foreign citizens stranded and at risk of being caught in the violence in the region. Its effects are also felt globally on the economy, having disrupted one of the world's most important energy corridors as well as a key hub of the aviation and tourism sectors.

Here's what to know about how the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran got to this point and what could come next.

Why did the U.S. and Israel strike Iran?

American and Israeli officials haveoffered conflicting explanationsfor why they attacked Iran, even as Trump has insisted that strikes were necessary and that operations would continue until U.S. objectives are met. Immediately after the launch of "Operation Epic Fury" on Feb. 28, Trumpcharacterizedthe attack as defensive and suggested that it was intended to eliminate "imminent threats" from Iran. Israeldescribedit as a "preemptive strike" aimed at neutralizing an anticipated missile attack from Iran. Trump had a "good feeling" that Iran was planning to attack the U.S., White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitttoldreporters on March 4. Neither the U.S. nor Israel provided evidence that Iran was planning to attack them. In private briefings to Congress, Trump Administration officialsacknowledgedthat U.S. intelligence did not show Iran was preparing to strike before the U.S.-Israeli attacks; instead, they said Iran's missiles and proxy forces posed a threat to U.S. personnel and allies in the region, although officials presented differing views over whether that threat was more general or imminent.

The rationale behind the strikes continued evolving days after the strikes. U.S. officials havedescribed the offensiveas aimed at crippling Iran's ballistic missile infrastructure and preventing Iran fromobtaining a nuclear weaponafter what the Trump Administration has sincesaidwere failed nuclear negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly described the Iranian regime as an "existential threat" to Israel. Iran has maintained that it isnot looking to developa nuclear weapon, although the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Tehran had enriched uranium beyond civilian energy needs. Even so, the watchdog said that Iran did not have a structured program towardsdeveloping a nuclear weapon. After bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities last June, Trump alsoclaimedthat the U.S. had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program.

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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio initially suggested that the U.S. launched strikes in part due to pressure from Israel which was preparing its own attack. Rubio, as well as Trump, laterwalked back those comments, insisting that the strike was a decision made by Trump and that Israel did not force U.S. action.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegsethsaidthat the operation is "not a so-called regime change war," but broader American and Israeli messaging have indicated a goal of toppling Iran's leadership. Immediately after the strikes, Trumpcalled onthe Iranian people to "take over" their government. The strikes also came weeks after Trump hadpromised to "rescue"Iranian protesters in January. After Khamenei's killing, Israel warned that whoever became the next Supreme Leader under the current regimewould also be a potential target.

What is the relationship between the U.S. and Iran?

The U.S. and Iran have long been political adversaries, ending formal diplomatic ties after the 1979 Iranian Revolution which established the Islamic Republic of Iran. During Trump's second term in office, the Trump Administration hasramped up pressureon Iran to abandon its nuclear program after Trump in his first termwithdrew the U.S.from a nuclear deal the Barack Obama Administration agreed with Iran. In January, Trump also threatened the Iranian regime over itsviolent crackdownon anti-government protesters.

Even so, Washington and Tehran had been engaged in ongoing nuclear negotiations when the U.S. and Israel carried out its strikes. Those talks had resumed in early February after being stalled since June, whenIsrael attacked Iranand theU.S. joined Israel in strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. There were reports of limited but notable progress between U.S. and Iranian negotiators, who met inOmanon Feb. 6 andGenevaon Feb. 26 and 27, just a day before the U.S.-Israeli strikes. The ongoing attacks, however, have once again hardened Iran's stance towards the U.S. and may have shattered hopes for adiplomatic agreement around Iran's nuclear program.

How has Iran responded?

Iran responded with a swathe of retaliatory attacks on U.S. military installations across the region, hitting Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia in initial attacks over the weekend. Suspected Iranian strikes have alsohit civilian sites, including Saudi Arabia'soil refinery, ahotel in Dubai, and near airports in the U.A.E. and Kuwait. In the following days, Iran expanded its attacks, launching missiles and drones at Jordan which were intercepted andtargeting a British Royal Air Force base in Cyprus. Suspected Iranian strikes have also been reported over Iraq and Oman's airspace. Iran also begantargetingAmerican political centers in the region, including striking U.S. embassies in Riyadh and Kuwait City.More than a dozen peoplehave been killed by suspected Iranian strikes across the region.

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Six U.S. service members were killedin an Iranian retaliatory strike on a U.S. operations center in Kuwait, marking thefirst reported American combat deathsin this war. More than a dozen other soldiers were reportedly wounded in Iranian attacks.

Iran's conventional military capabilities are far smaller and less technologically advanced than those of the U.S. and Israel. Iran has more than600,000 active military personnel, with another 350,000 reserves, compared toIsrael's roughly 170,000 active-duty personneland more than 450,000 reservists. But ataround $10 billion, Iran's defense budget is dwarfed byIsrael's $35 billion budget, not to mention the U.S.'s nearly$1 trillion defense budget—the largest in the world. Israel also has highly advanced missile defense systems and is believed to possess a clandestine nuclear weapon, while the U.S. has one of the biggest nuclear arsenals in the world, superior technology, and extensive military reach across the world. Experts toldAl Jazeerathat Iran has shifted its strategy since last June toward a more aggressive use of regional missiles and drone attacks, although it is still constrained by its degraded capabilities and fear of escalating war with the U.S.

The conflict has also broadened after Iranian-backed paramilitary Hezbollah fired rockets and drones at an Israeli military site on March 2 in retaliation for Khamenei's killing. Israel responded with ongoing strikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon which havekilled more than 50 peopleas it continues to trade attacks with Hezbollah. Lebanon has condemned both Israel and Hezbollah's attacks and urged them not to use Lebanon as a "platform for proxy wars."

How has the rest of the world reacted?

Immediately after the first wave of American and Israeli strikes in Iran, world leaders urgedrestraint, and multilateral institutions like theUnited Nationsand theEuropean Unionhave called for de-escalation.

The Gulf States have historically avoided direct confrontation with Iran and repeatedly rejected being dragged into a regional conflict. In the weeks leading up to the U.S. attack, Oman had been mediating indirect talks between Washington and Tehran. But as neighboring states found themselves in Iran's crosshairs after Tehran targetedU.S. basesand civilian sites across the region, the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait,convenedan emergency meeting to condemn Iran's actions and "reserve[d] their legal right to respond."

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, of which the U.S. is a member, supports the military campaign against Iran, according to itssecretary-general Mark Rutte, although the alliance said itwill not get involved. Some of the U.S.'s NATO allies have shown hesitation over being dragged into the war. The U.K. initially opposed ​​the U.S. military using a joint base in the British-governed Chagos Islands to send defensive missiles to Iran, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer eventuallyrelentedfollowing public rebuke by Trump. Starmer alsoallowedthe U.S. to use its military base RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus for "defensive" strikes against Iran; the base was hit in asuspected Hezbollah drone strikesoon after the announcement. Spain was more resolute: when Trump threatened to cut off bilateral trade after the European nation rejected the American military's use of its bases, its Prime Minister Pedro Sánchezresponded, "No to war."

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Outside the Middle East, the conflict has prompted warnings of a greater global fallout.Indiahas raised concerns about knock-on effects, including to trade and energy supply chains, whileRussia, Iran's ally that has pinned blame on the U.S. and Israel andremains at war with Ukraine, condemned the new violence as pushing the region "toward a humanitarian, economic, and potentially even radiological disaster."

What are the global implications of the war?

The war has caused widespread travel disruption. While Americans have beenadvised to leave the Middle East immediately, doing so is not easy: several Gulf nations closed their airspaces, and some international airports in the Gulf, many of which serve as key transit points for global travel, also sustained damage from Iran's counteroffensives, leaving thousands of travelers stranded. Some Gulf airlines have since resumed flights, though mainly forrepatriationefforts.

The war alsothreatens to disrupt global oil and natural gas supplies. There is already a bottleneck in theStrait of Hormuz, a narrow maritime passage between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which around a fifth of the world's oil production passes. Iran, which controls the northern side of the strait and can block any traversing ships, has previously used the waterway as a political bargaining chip amid tensions. Following the attack over the weekend, Iranian forces threatened that any ship passing through would be "set ablaze." Several LNG facilities across the region were also attacked. Analyststold TIMEthat the threat of prolonged conflict has prompted shippers to either dock to avoid risks or to jack up costs, leading to price surges.

Read More:After Khamenei: What Iran, and the World, Face Next

Who was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had served as Iran's Supreme Leader for more than 36 years, the longest of any leaderin the Middle Eastat the time of his death. Like Ruhollah Khomeini, the grand ayatollah who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran after the 1979 revolution, Khamenei strongly rejected what the theocratic regime saw as "Western imperialism," positioning Iran as a counterweight to American, Israeli, and Saudi influence in the region. Under Khamenei's rule, Iran funded militant groups, including Hezbollah, to function as regional proxies.

As Supreme Leader, Khamenei virtually dictated all aspects of governance in the Islamic Republic, appointing the heads of the judiciary and controlling Iran's military and the Revolutionary Guard Corps—the defenders of Iran's Islamic system. Khamenei often used the broad range of powers at his disposal to quell dissent.

Read More:Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader Who Built a De Facto Military Dictatorship, Killed in U.S.-Israeli Strikes

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Khamenei's detractorsrejoiced upon hearing his death, citing decades of repression and crackdowns on expression and protests under his rule. In 2022,protests broke outafter the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of so-called "morality police" for allegedly flouting Hijab laws, only for the Khamenei regime to respond witheven more stringent punishmentsto deter women from breaching strict dress code rules. People also took to the streetslate last year and early this yearto vent their frustration at Iran's struggling economy amid a plunging currency and soaring inflation, issues that stem in part from international sanctions imposed on Iran over the years.

Who will likely succeed Khamenei as leader?

With Khamenei's antagonistic views towards the U.S. and the West, his death has sparked hope for a more moderate or reformist Supreme Leader to take his place. But thepool of replacement candidateshas also become significantly smaller in recent years, especially as the U.S. has killed some of Khamenei's preferred successors. Trump has said Iran needs "more moderate" leadership, but he conceded that in the worst case, Khamanei's replacement could be someone "who's as bad as the previous person." The attacks have tested Tehran's willingness to negotiate with Washington.

Iran's constitution states that the Supreme Leader must be a Shia Islamic jurist chosen by the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member elected committee of clerics. Among the possible candidates to replace Khamenei are his son Mojtaba Khamenei; Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i; and Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of former Supreme Leader Khomeini.

What's the legal status of the war?

Lawmakers and international observers have raised concerns about the legal basis for the U.S.-Israeli strikes. While the U.S. President is also the country's Commander in Chief, his authority to order military action is limited to repelling attacks or deterring a clearly imminent attack, an experttoldTIME, and so far there has been little evidence that is the case. For the President to launch an attack on a sovereign state, he is required to get authorization from Congress, which has the exclusive power to declare war. Military action without congressional approval is restricted by the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which limits the operation to 60 days.

Although Congress does not need to take action to declare the strikes illegal, lawmakers have again found their abilityto constrain Trumplimited, especially after military action has already been taken. Democrats in the Senate attempted to block further military action against Iran without congressional authorization, but theresolution failed. Another war powers resolution is expected to be voted on in the House on March 5. Trump has largely been able to carry out military action without congressional approval or significant recourse, including themilitary raid on Venezuela,strikes on alleged drug boatsin the Caribbean and Pacific, andstrikeson several countries, including Iran.

Read More:Did Trump Have the Legal Authority to Strike Iran? An Expert Explains

How long could the war last?

Trump hasoffered conflicting timelineson how long the Iran conflict will take to resolve. Early on Feb. 28, after the initial strikes, he toldAxiosthat he had the choice to "go long" or "end it in two to three days." The day after the first salvo, Trump toldthe Daily Mailthat the campaign in Iran would take about four weeks.

In a March 2 Pentagon press briefing, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine said the campaign was "not a single overnight operation," and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the Administration would "never hang a time frame" on the war and that the progress could "move up" or "move back."

What do Americans think of the war?

Several polls carried out in the immediate days after the U.S.-Israeli attack suggest that most Americans disapprove of the war, although sentiment towards the war has been divided along party lines. According to most polls, most Republicans support the military action, while most Democrats and Independents do not.

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Across the board, 69% of Americans, according to aCBS News poll, said Trump needs to get authorization from Congress to continue military operations against Iran. A majority of those surveyed also felt the Trump Administration had not provided a clear explanation for the U.S.'s objectives in Iran.

Read More:How Americans Feel About Trump's War With Iran, According to the Latest Polls

Across American cities, people have also taken to the streets to protest the war, including in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and D.C. At the same time, thousands of others haveralliedto celebrate the death of Khamenei and call for the end of the Iranian regime.

Contact usatletters@time.com.

Iran identified the vessel as the Iris Dena and vowed vengeance for what it described as an "atrocity."

"An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters," Hegseth said during a press conference at the Pentagon. "Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo."

The Pentagon released video of the attack showing a ship that experiences a massive explosion by its stern as well as what appeared to be still frames showing the ship sinking.

Sri Lanka's foreign minister Vijitha Herath said the country's navy responded to a distress call on Wednesday.

"A vessel belonging to the Iranian Navy by the name of Iris Dena, was sinking is what we know based on the distress call which we received at 5.08 a.m.," he told parliament. "By 6 a.m. we dispatched boats to the scene while the Air force also joined rescue efforts."

At least 87 bodies have been recovered so far, according to Sri Lankan officials, while some 32 others were rescued by the Sri Lankan Navy.

Some 130 people were believed to have been on board the vessel when the first distress call was received on Wednesday, according to Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.

"The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores," Araghchi said on X. "Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set."

Destroying Iran's navy has been one of the most cited objectives of senior US administration officials regarding the ongoing military campaign that started over the weekend. Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, said ina recorded video messageon Tuesday that the US has destroyed more than 17 Iranian ships thus far, including "the most operational Iranian submarine that now has a hole in its side."

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said it was the first time a US attack submarine had used a torpedo to sink a combat ship since 1945.

It was not immediately clear which event he was referring to, but the USS Torsk destroyed multiple Japanese combat ships in 1945.

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Torpedoes have been used since then, dropped from aircraft and not in combat. In 1951, a US attack squadron launched torpedoes on a dam in South Korea, blocking advancing enemy forces, according to theUS Navy. In 1999, a US attack submarine successfully used a torpedo to sink an oil ship after other efforts with explosives had failed to scuttle the ship.

Uneasy focus on India

The IRIS Dena had been sailing home from an east Indian port, where it had participated in an international naval conference hosted by India in February.

"Indian Navy welcomes IRIS Dena, of the Iranian Navy, on her arrival at Visakhapatnam," India's Eastern Naval Command wrote in a post on X on February 17.

A contingent of Iranian sailors marched in a big parade in the port city last month.

A US Navy admiral also attended the gathering, but Washington did not send any ships to India.

"The sinking of the IRIS Dena just hours after it left Indian waters is a massive blow to New Delhi's regional credibility," said Sushant Singh, a lecturer in South Asian Studies at Yale University.

He noted that while the Iranian ship was in international waters, it was "going from an Indian fleet review, through what is not an active war zone, and definitely an area of India's influence."

Singh said: "That is why it crosses a thick red line."

India's "non-negotiables" are "protecting commerce and energy routes, avoiding entanglement in US–Iran escalation, and preventing any normalization of third‑party kinetic actions so close to its maritime periphery," he added.

"All of them have been challenged by the US naval action," Singh said.

India hasn't publicly commented on the incident. CNN has reached out to its foreign ministry and navy for a response.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

APTOPIX Russia Ukraine War

Meanwhile, the United States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Kyiv's expertise in countering Iran's Shahed drones. Russia has fired tens of thousands of Shaheds at Ukraine since itinvaded its neighborjust over four years ago, Zelenskyy said. Iran has responded with the same type of drones to joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets.

The Iran war, now in its sixth day, has drawn international attention away from Europe's biggest conflict since World War II. Western governments and analysts say the Russia-Ukraine war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, while there is no sign that yearlongU.S.-led peace effortswill stop the fighting any time soon.

"Right now, because of the situation around Iran, there are not yet the necessary signals for a trilateral meeting," Zelenskyy said late Wednesday. "But as soon as the security situation and the overall political context allow us to resume that trilateral diplomatic work, it will be done."

Various countries, including the United States, have approached Ukraine for help in defending against Iranian drones, Zelenskyy said. He said he has spoken in recent days with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait about possible cooperation.

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Ukrainian assistance, he said, will be provided only if it does not weaken Ukraine's own defenses and if it adds leverage to Kyiv's diplomatic efforts to stop the Russian invasion.

"We help to defend from war those who help us, Ukraine, bring a just end to the war" with Russia, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine's army has recently pushed back Russian forces at some points along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Localized Ukrainian counterattacks liberated more territory than Ukrainian forces lost in the last two weeks of February, the Washington-based think tank said this week, estimating the recovered land at about 257 square kilometers (100 square miles) since Jan. 1.

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine athttps://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine