External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio exchanged sharply differing views during a phone call on Saturday, with Jaishankar calling the US killing of three Indian mariners in the Gulf of Oman "unjustified" and Rubio warning that violations of the American blockade in the Strait of Hormuz "will not be tolerated".
Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Europe, raised India's "strong protest" over the deaths of the seafarers, who were killed in a US military strike on a merchant vessel.
"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," Jaishankar said on social media.
"Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified," he said.
Meanwhile, Rubio underscored that violations of the American blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated, US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
"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," Pigott said.
Notably, three vessels with Indian crew came under attack off the Oman coast this week. One of them resulted in the death of three Indian seafarers on Wednesday.
India on Friday summoned US Chargé d'Affaires Jason Meeks and told him that the American military's lethal strikes on 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 8 June. All crew members were safely rescued. On 10 June, the US struck another Palau-flagged tanker, Settebello, killing three of the 24 Indian sailors on board. Another vessel, Jalveer, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker with 20 Indians, was attacked on Thursday.
Following the attack on Jalveer, India said three merchant ships with Indian crew members came under attack from the American military off the coast of Oman this week, resulting in the deaths of three nationals.
It was New Delhi's first public acknowledgement that the US Navy had targeted the three ships with Indian crew members.
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".
(With inputs from PTI)
