The federal government says it cannot answer questions over whether Australian personnel were on board the American submarine that sank an Iranian frigate.
Australian personnel have been embedded on American fast-attack submarines for months in preparation for Australia acquiring its own Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines.
Nine News is reporting two Australian sailors were on board the submarine that carried out the attack on the IRIS Dena.
The Iranian vessel was off the coast of Sri Lanka when it was sunk and Sri Lankan authorities say they have rescued 32 people and recovered 87 bodies.
Earlier today Greens senator David Shoebridge questioned Foreign Minister Penny Wong in parliament as to whether ADF personnel were involved.
“Were any Australian personnel on this US submarine when it sank the Iranian frigate and left the survivors to drown?” he said.
Senator Wong replied that it was not something she could comment on.
“The US submarine operations are a matter for the United States,” she said.
“You ask about Australian Defence Force personnel … for operational and security reasons, we do not disclose specific information regarding Australian personnel.”
Dozens of ADF personnel deployed on US subs
In October last year defence officials said more than 50 ADF personnel were serving on American fast-attack submarines based out of Pearl Harbor and that roughly 100 more were training in the US.
American authorities identified the submarine that fired on the Iranian warship as a fast-attack submarine that fired a single Mark-48 torpedo.
They claimed it was the first time a US submarine had fired on an enemy warship since the Second World War.
Defence has not commented on questions about Australian personnel on American submarines.
But the ABC understands long-standing arrangements are in place regarding how Australian personnel deployed with foreign militaries manage such situations.
While the US has declared that it wants to “wipe out” Iran’s navy, the exact circumstances surrounding the sinking of the IRIS Dena remain unclear.
Senator Wong told the Senate on Thursday that the Iranian frigate — which typically carries heavy guns, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes — was “preparing to strike” an unnamed target.
“I’ve seen, before I came to Question Time, what the US has said about why that vessel was sunk, and what it was preparing to strike, and I’d refer you to that,” she said.
But while US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth boasted that the warship was given a “quiet death” in international waters where it “thought it was safe”, the ABC has been unable to find any US government statements that explain why it was sunk or what it was allegedly going to strike.
The ABC has approached Senator Wong’s office to clarify what her remark was in reference to but has not yet received a reply.
Source: ABC
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