New Delhi: External Affairs minister S Jaishankar conveyed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio India’s strong protest over recent strikes in the Gulf by American navy that killed three Indian mariners.
Rubio replied with a firm warning that all ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz must comply with US orders. The American official also made it clear that the US won’t tolerate any violation of its Hormuz blockade.
According to the US Department of State’s spokesperson Tommy Pigott, Jaishankar and Rubio had a telephonic discussion on “recent events” in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday.
“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,” Pigott said.
Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Europe, dialled Rubio and brought to his attention that three ships carrying Indian sailors had been struck in a matter of four days earlier this week, with three Indians losing their lives in one of those attacks.
Even as India summoned the US envoy in New Delhi not once, but twice, to register a strong protest, US CENTCOM acknowledged hitting the oil tankers, and justified the action by claiming that the crew didn’t comply with orders from its forces.
