External affairs minister S Jaishankar dialled US secretary of state Marco Rubio to raise the death of three Indian seafarers in US attacks on ships in the Gulf of Oman, and asserted that “lethal actions” against commercial vessels are not justified.
According to a US state department readout on Friday’s conversation between the two leaders, Rubio emphasised that commercial vessels should comply with orders from US forces, and violations of an American blockade of Iranian ports “will not be tolerated”.
Jaishankar and Rubio spoke hours after the external affairs ministry summoned US chargé d’affaires Jason Meeks for the second time in three days to protest against US attacks on merchant vessels with Indian crew members. The US attack on MT Settebello on June 9 killed three Indian seafarers.
“Spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this [Friday] evening. I reiterated India’s strong protest at the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners,” Jaishankar said in a brief social media post early on Saturday morning.
“Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified,” he said, reiterating the message from New Delhi that merchant vessels should not be targeted.
The terse readout on the conversation issued by US state department spokesperson Tommy Pigott did not acknowledge India’s concerns or the deaths of the Indian seafarers. It emphasised US efforts to enforce the blockade of Iranian ports and to act against vessels attempting to break it.
Pigott said the two leaders discussed “recent events in the Strait of Hormuz” and said 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”.
Rubio also “underscored that violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated”.
US forces have targeted three foreign-flagged merchant vessels with Indian crew members off the coast of Oman this week, resulting in the death of three Indian sailors and triggering public anger in the country. Oman’s armed forces rescued more than 60 Indian crew members from the three vessels.
On Friday, the external affairs ministry summoned Meeks – who is officiating as chargé d’affaires as US ambassador Sergio Gor is out of the country – for the second time since Wednesday and additional secretary (Americas) Nagaraj Naidu registered a strong protest over the continued US attacks on merchant vessels with Indian crew members.
“A strong protest was lodged with [Meeks] regarding the continuing attacks by US naval forces on commercial vessels carrying Indian mariners in the Gulf of Oman, which have already resulted in the tragic and avoidable loss of three Indian lives,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Indian side 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 statement said.
Meeks was asked to convey “India’s strong concerns to his authorities and to ensure that US forces operating in the region take all necessary measures to prevent the loss of civilian life”.
Meeks was summoned to the ministry again a day after US forces targeted MT Jalveer, a tanker with 20 Indian crew members, off Shinas port in Oman on Thursday.
The US Central Command has said it took action to “disable” three vessels this week – MT Marivex on June 8, MT Settebello on June 9 and MT Jalveer on June 11 – because they were trying to violate the US blockade of Iranian ports. A US combat aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into Jalveer’s engine room to disable it.
None of three vessels were Indian-flagged – Marivex and Settebello were Palau-flagged while Jalveer was Guinea-Bissau-flagged – but all Indian crew members.
Three Indian crew members of Settebello who were reported missing were confirmed dead on Thursday, hours after US forces struck Jalveer. Among the dead was Aditya Sharma, a 23-year-old resident of Himachal Pradesh who was a deck cadet or apprentice training to become a licenced ship officer.
