New Delhi: The US has conveyed to India that all cargo ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz should comply with American naval orders. During a conversation between the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, on Saturday, the two sides exchanged views on the situation in West Asia.
The phone call happened after India strongly protested the killing of three Indian seafarers in a US naval attack on an oil tanker, MT Settebello, in the Gulf of Oman, operated by 24 Indian crew members, last week. India had summoned the US embassy’s charge d’affaires, Jason Meeks, to the foreign office to lodge a strong protest over the American naval action that killed the Indian seafarers.
“Secretary of state Marco Rubio spoke yesterday with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The two officials discussed recent events in the Strait of Hormuz. The secretary stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait. He underscored that violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated,” the US state department statement said.
Following his conversation with Rubio, Jaishankar posted on X that India had conveyed its concerns directly to Washington. “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,” he posted.
On Friday night, the US president, Donald Trump, deflected the blame for the deadly attacks on cargo ships operated by Indian seafarers in the Gulf region to Iran. In his Truth Social post, Trump said: “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.”
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 that week to lodge a strong protest on the continued US naval attacks on commercial vessels carrying Indian mariners in the Gulf of Oman. This cane 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.