Jaishankar lodges strong protest with Rubio over death of Indian seafarers: 'Such lethal actions not justified'
India has protested to the United States after attacks involving the US Navy in the Gulf resulted in the deaths of three Indian mariners. External
India has protested to the United States after attacks involving the US Navy in the Gulf resulted in the deaths of three Indian mariners. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and conveyed New Delhi's strong objections over the incidents. 'Such lethal actions not justified' In a post on X, 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." He added: "Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified." According to the minister, three vessels carrying Indian crew members came under attack off the coast of Oman earlier this week.
One of the incidents, which occurred on Wednesday, resulted in the deaths of three Indian seafarers. India has also summoned the Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy in New Delhi to register its protest over the matter. Earlier, US President Donald Trump accused Iran of carrying out drone attacks against Indian ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz, saying it was "totally unacceptable." "Their (Iran's) totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against Indian Ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. They better get their act together and FAST," Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social. Iran calls Trump's claims 'baseless' Reacting to the claims, the Embassy of Iran in India on Saturday rejected Trump's allegations, calling them "baseless".
Also Read | 3 Indian seafarers die in second US attack on vessel sailing near Oman coast The embassy also accused Washington of attempting to deflect attention from recent attacks on commercial vessels carrying Indian seafarers. The Iranian Embassy claimed that the US had attacked three Indian vessels in less than a week, resulting in the deaths of three Indian sailors, and described the actions as "brutal" and "pathetic". In a post on X, the official account of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in India shared: "The U.S. president's accusation against Iran regarding an Indian vessel in the Strait of Hormuz is simply baseless. It is an attempt to divert public attention from the brutal fact that the U.S. has attacked 3 Indian vessels in less than a week and killed 3 innocent Indian sailors.
That's pathetic!" Also Read | 3 Indians missing after attack on commercial vessel off Oman: MEA The vessel, MT Settebello, came under fire on Wednesday after US forces accused it of violating the ongoing naval blockade on Iranian ports. Of the 24 Indian crew members on board, 21 were rescued, while the three others were later confirmed deceased.
The BriefWire