NEW DELHI: India on Saturday expressed deep concern after two Indian-flagged vessels came under fire in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, calling in Iran’s Ambassador Mohammad Fathali for a meeting with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
The meeting between the two officials focused on ensuring the safety of Indian shipping in one of the world’s most sensitive maritime corridors and resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the Strait of Hormuz that has become a choking point in the widening West Asia war.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in New Delhi was called in for a meeting with the Foreign Secretary this evening. During the meeting, the Foreign Secretary conveyed India’s deep concern at the shooting incident earlier today involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz.”
He added that Misri stressed “the importance that India attached to the safety of merchant shipping and mariners,” while recalling that Iran had earlier facilitated safe passage for India-bound vessels through the route.
“Reiterating concern at this serious incident of firing on merchant ships, the Foreign Secretary urged the Ambassador to convey India’s views to the authorities in Iran and resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the Strait,” Jaiswal said. The Iranian envoy, according to the MEA spokesperson "undertook to convey these views to the Iranian authorities”.
Meanwhile, sources confirmed there were no injuries and no damage to either vessel, but both ships were forced to turn back after coming under fire northeast of Oman along a key global oil shipping lane in the Strait of Hormuz. One of the vessels is a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), underlining the scale and strategic importance of traffic moving through the corridor.
Amid rising tensions, US President Donald Trump warned Iran against using the strait as leverage, accusing Tehran of policy flip-flops on keeping the route open.
“They got a little cute, as they have been doing for 47 years,” Trump said, adding, “We’re talking to them. They wanted to close up the strait again… and they can’t blackmail us.” Striking a cautiously optimistic note, he added, “It’s going actually along very well, and we’ll see, but we’ll have some information by the end of the day.”