Trump deflects blame to Iran for Indian sailors’ death in attack on an oil tanker near Oman

New Delhi: The US president, Donald Trump, has attempted to deflect the blame to Iran for the deadly attacks on cargo ships carrying Indian seafarers in the Gulf region. His bid to implicate Iran for the attacks came hours after four Indian sailors were killed on board an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman late on Friday night, US time.

In a post on Truth Social on Friday evening US time, Trump said the drone attack on Indian ships in the Strait of Hormuz was “totally unacceptable,” while talking about the supposed leak of the West Asia peace deal details by the media, calling them “fake news”. “The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing. What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth. Very dishonorable people to deal with. With them, there is no such thing as dealing in good faith. AMAZING! Sic]” his Truth Social handle post read.

Blaming Iran for the attack on cargo ships with Indian seafarers on board, he added in the post: “Also, their totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against Indian Ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. They better get their act together, and FAST! President DONALD J. TRUMP.” His post, without naming the ships that Iran attacked last week, came hours after India summoned an American diplomat in New Delhi to give a dressing down for the continued attacks on cargo ships that left at least seven Indian sailors dead this week.

The Truth Social post was read as a bid to shift the blame for what was happening to Indian seafarers voyaging through the Gulf region on ships carrying oil and chemicals, after India expressed its anger over the repeated, brutal attacks by the US Navy that left at least three cargo ships “disabled” and three sailors dead over the week.

Multiple attacks on ships kill Indian sailors

The latest attack on MT Liaki Freedom, a Marshal Islands-flagged tanker, as RNA Media reported attributing India Sentinels, left four sailors dead on Friday late at night. The vessel was struck while sailing between Khor Fakkan anchorage and Shinas port in Oman. This was the deadliest of the four attacks that have happened this week on merchant vessels with Indian sailors on board in the Gulf region.

According to an India Sentinals report, a crew member aboard the tanker contacted an acquaintance in India shortly after the incident and described scenes of devastation on board. In an audio recording reviewed by the website, a distressed sailor said four crew members had been killed in the strike. When asked who carried out the attack, the sailor replied that it was a US strike. All sides – the US, Iran, Oman, and India – have remained silent on the MT Liaki Freedom attack, at the time this RNA report was published on Saturday.

India summons US envoy to protest

Only on Friday, the Indian external affairs ministry summoned Jason Meeks, the American charge d’affaires at the embassy in New Delhi, for the second time this week to lodge a strong protest on the continued US naval attacks on commercial vessels carrying Indian mariners in the Gulf of Oman, after a third vessel, MT Jalveer, came under attack. MT Jalveer was struck by the US Navy barely two days after three Indian seafarers were killed when the Palau-flagged tanker MT Settebello.

While the US later acknowledged carrying out that attack, saying the vessel had allegedly violated its blockade targeting Iranian-linked oil shipments, India condemned the missile strike, summoning Meeks for the first time this week. On Friday, India’s external affairs minister Dr. S. Jaishankar posted on X that he spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reiterating India’s “strong protest” at the US Navy attacks in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners. “Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified,” Jaishankar said.

Spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this evening. I reiterated India’s strong protest at the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners. Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified.

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) June 12, 2026

“The ministry once again conveyed its deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping. Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security, and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time,” the Indian MEA said in a statement late on Friday. “The US charge d’Affaires was requested to convey India’s strong concern to his authorities and to ensure that US forces operating in the region take all necessary measures to prevent the loss of civilian life,” it added.

With the back-to-back attacks on four cargo vessels, leaving at least seven sailors dead this week, New Delhi is increasingly anxious for the incidents to stop, as anger within India rises against the US military actions. There have been calls from the Indian opposition parties for New Delhi to militarily retaliate against the blatant civilian killings due to irresponsible American military strikes on commercial ships in West Asia.