All commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait of Hormuz, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio told External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during their phone call on Friday.
According to a statement by the White House Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott, Rubio told Jaishankar that violations of the US Military’s blockade will not be tolerated.
“The Secretary stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from U.S. forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait. He underscored that violations of the U.S. blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated,” Rubio said, according to Pigot.
Jaishankar had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio from Helsinki to convey India’s strongest protest over the killing of three Indian seafarers in US Navy strikes on commercial vessels in the Gulf of Oman.
The deaths of Indian seafarers triggered massive public outrage in India as the US Navy allegedly attacked their vessel Motor Tanker Settebello without any warning.
“Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified,” Jaishankar told Rubio, underlining India’s deep concern over the incident.
“I reiterated India’s strong protest over the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners,” Jaishankar said in post on X.
The minister’s intervention comes after India summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks and condemned the incident.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) lodged a “strong protest” over 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 MEA described the American actions as the “use of lethal force against civilian shipping,” calling them “unacceptable” and warning that they “undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time.”
India also urged Washington to ensure that its forces take all necessary measures to prevent civilian casualties.