India Offered Refuge to Iranian Frigate Before U.S. Navy Sank It

On March 1, just as hostilities between the U.S. and Iran were getting under way, India had granted permission to a request from Iran for Dena and two other ships to moor at an Indian port. The support ship IRIS Laval pulled into Kochi and reached the safety of an Indian naval facility on March 4, Jaishankar said. Dena was sunk the same day, and support ship IRIS Bushehr sought refuge in Sri Lanka on March 5. 

Most likely, the sinking of the warship was a message to China.