The United States appeared to brush aside India’s protest over the deaths of three Indian mariners in a U.S. Navy action in the Gulf, responding not with an explanation or expression of regret but with a renewed warning that commercial vessels must comply with U.S. military orders in the Strait of Hormuz. While India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar described the killings as unjustified and lodged a strong protest with Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement focused on enforcing the U.S. blockade and preventing the transport of Iranian oil.
“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. Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified,” Jaishankar wrote on X after the conversation.
In its official readout of the conversation, the U.S. State Department said the two leaders discussed recent developments in the Strait of Hormuz. Rubio stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from U.S. forces operating in the region and underscored that violations of the U.S. blockade and the transport of Iranian oil would not be tolerated.
Notably, the U.S. statement made no mention of the three Indian mariners killed in the attack, focusing instead on maritime enforcement measures and regional security operations in the Gulf.
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