India-US Tense Over Gulf of Oman Attacks on Ships with Indian Mariners

India and the US remained locked in a tense stand-off over attacks on vessels in Gulf of Oman, with US signalling no relief for Indian mariners caught in the crossfire of the US-Iran conflict. After having twice summoned the American envoy over US military strikes on foreign-flagged ships carrying Indian mariners, India further escalated the issue as external affairs minister S Jaishankar reiterated India’s protest in a phone call with his US counterpart Marco Rubio. “Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified,” Jaishankar later posted on X. However, Rubio underscored that violations of the US blockade and illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated, confirming there will be no exemption for Indian seafarers. US forces have fired upon three vessels with Indian seafarers on board in the past 6 days, accusing them of evading the US blockade.

All vessels should comply with orders to ‘uphold peace’: Rubio

A State Department readout also said that as they discussed the situation in Strait of Hormuz, Rubio stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces as they seek to “uphold peace and security in the Strait”. This comes a day after India told the US charge d’affaires here, Jason Meeks, that use of lethal force against civilian shipping is unacceptable. According to sources here, India will continue to impress upon the US to avoid any action that endangers the lives of seafarers or impedes commercial shipping. India condemned the US strike on MT Marivex on June 8. The ministry of external affairs summoned Meeks two days later after another ship was struck leading to the death of 3 Indian nationals.