S Jaishankar has conveyed India's strong protest to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after three Indian mariners were killed in an attack on a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman.
The UAE-based operator of the attacked vessel challenged the US Navy to make public evidence supporting its claim that the vessel was given warning prior to the attack.
According to the reports, the bodies of Ashish Kumar and Dalip Singh were burnt in the attack and the rescuers have recovered their bones.
In a statement posted on the social media platform X, the Embassy of India in Oman expressed deep condolences over the incident.
Chabahar port is situated chistan province. It is located on the Gulf of Oman, outside the Strait of Hormuz. India and Iran signed an agreement for operating the Chabahar port in Iran for a10- year period.
Saturday's attack is the latest part of a series of attacks on oil infrastructure, including the sabotage of pumping stations along the East-West pipeline, and attacks on oil tankers off Fujairah and close to the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest incident came as President Donald Trump insisted Friday that the US military had downed an Iranian drone that was threatening an American naval vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, despite denials from Tehran.
The UK's Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the civilian aircraft, reports said.
The US President has couched his strained defence of the sanctions with the assertion, “I can only tell you we cannot ever let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
Earlier on Friday, the United Airlines suspended its services between New Jersey’s Newark and Mumbai.
