New Delhi | 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 on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman.
Jaishankar, currently on a visit to Europe, spoke to the US Secretary of State on phone.
Following the conversation, the external affairs minister described the "lethal" actions by the US military against commercial shipping as unjustified.
"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.
India on Friday summoned US Charge 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 June 8. All crew members were safely rescued.
On June 10, the US struck another Palau-flagged tanker, Settebello, killing three out 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 American military off the coast of Oman this week resulting in the death of three nationals.
It was New Delhi's first public acknowledgement that US Navy 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".
Washington | US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that any violation of the American blockade and illicit transport of Iranian oil through the Straits of Hormuz will not be tolerated, an official statement said Saturday.
Rubio conveyed this to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who spoke with him on Friday to lodge a strong protest against the death of Indian nationals in US attacks on ships off the coast of Oman.
“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,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
Rubio underscored that violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated, Pigott said in a statement here.
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.
“Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified,” Jaishankar said in a post on X after he spoke with Rubio.