US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reiterated to his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar that Washington will enforce its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, despite New Delhi’s protest over a deadly US strike on a commercial vessel earlier this week.
According to a US State Department readout of the phone conversation between the two officials on Saturday, Rubio “stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces” in the Strait of Hormuz, and that violations of the US blockade “will not be tolerated.”
US forces struck three commercial vessels with Indian crew members in the Strait of Hormuz area this week, according to Indian media reports. One strike, on the Palau-flagged MT Settebello, left three Indian seafarers dead. Washington claimed that the vessel had violated its blockade of Iranian ports and failed to comply with instructions from US forces.
India summoned the US charge d’affaires Jason Meeks twice last week to lodge strong protests against the attacks and denounced “the tragic and avoidable loss” of civilian lives.
“Use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping… [is] unacceptable,” the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. Such actions undermine the safety and security of international maritime commerce, it added.
The dispute comes despite both governments having repeatedly described their relationship as one of trust and partnership. During a visit to India last month, Rubio called it “one of our most important strategic partners in the world.”
Even so, Saturday’s readout made no mention of the deaths.
“Deeply shocking to read this official US statement, which contains absolutely no expression of regret or condolence for the loss of innocent Indian lives. How can a ‘friend’ and strategic partner be so deeply insensitive?” Shashi Tharoor, an opposition lawmaker from the Indian National Congress, wrote on X on Saturday.
“No regret, No remorse, no empathy, no sympathy. Abrupt, abrasive confrontational. Hardly the language you use with a country you call a ‘friend’,” another senior Congress leader, Manish Tewari, wrote on X.
Domestic pressure has mounted on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to take a firmer line toward Washington. Modi is expected to meet US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit in France next week.