External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday raised with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio the killing of three Indian mariners in a US military strike in the Gulf of Oman even as Washington firmly asserted that violations of its regional naval blockade will not be tolerated.
Amid escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a telephonic conversation with India strongly protesting the deaths of three Indian mariners in a US military action against a commercial vessel.
Following his phone conversation with Rubio, the external affairs minister described the "lethal" actions by the US military against commercial shipping as unjustified.Hours later, the US State department said Rubio stressed that all commercial vessels must comply with orders from US forces to uphold peace and security in the Strait of Hormuz.Rubio underscored that violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated, principal deputy spokesperson of the State Department Tommy Pigott said on the phone call.
The US military has been enforcing a blockade of Iran's ports in response to Tehran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical transit route accounting for nearly 20 per cent of global oil and gas traffic. In a social media post, Jaishankar earlier 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." "Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified," he said.
India on Friday summoned US Charge d'Affaires Jason Meeks and told him that the American military's lethal strikes on three commercial vessels with Indian crew members off the coast of Oman are unacceptable.The senior diplomat was summoned on Wednesday night as well.A Palau-flagged oil tanker, Marivex, carrying 24 Indian seafarers, was disabled by US forces on June 8. All crew members were safely rescued.
In a statement, Pigott said Rubio and Jaishankar "discussed recent events in the Strait of Hormuz"."The Secretary stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait," he said."He underscored that violations of the U.S. blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated," Pigott added.
After Meeks was summoned on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said a "strong protest" was lodged with him regarding the continuing attacks by US naval forces on commercial vessels carrying Indian mariners in the Gulf of Oman.
The ministry said it once again "conveyed its deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping." MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday that the three separate strikes on the Settebello, Marivex and Jalveer "came from the US Navy".
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