India’s external affairs ministry on Friday summoned US chargé d’affaires Jason Meeks for the second time in two days and registered “strong protest” over the continuing US attacks on commercial vessels carrying Indian mariners in the Gulf of Oman.
Meeks was summoned as the growing criticism of New Delhi’s muted response to the US role in the death of three Indian seafarers this week reached Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s doorstep, with leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal targeting him.
A ministry statement said India’s deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping had been conveyed to Meeks.
“Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time,” the statement said.
“The US chargé d’affaires was requested to convey India’s strong concerns to his authorities and to ensure that US forces operating in the region take all necessary measures to prevent the loss of civilian life.”
The American military, which attacked three ships carrying Indian
crew members this week, says these vessels had flouted the US blockade of Iran by trying to transport Iranian oil or sail to an Iranian port.
Meeks had been summoned on Wednesday, too, after the US Central Command announced that it had disabled Palau-flagged MT Settebello on Tuesday for trying to transport Iranian oil. Of the 28 seafarers on board, 24 were Indian and three of them were said to be missing when Meeks was summoned.
However, there was no official readout on the first summoning, which was confirmed only on Thursday afternoon after shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the bodies of all three missing Indians had been recovered and identified.
As criticism of India’s tepid response grew amid reports of a third merchant vessel with Indian seafarers being hit by the US central command (CENTCOM) on Thursday morning, ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal underscored that the ships were foreign-flagged and two of them had been sanctioned while the third was non-compliant.
Former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal criticised this contention by the ministry.
“Why are we indirectly justifying the US action by referring to OFAC (sanctioned) and using terms like non-compliance?” he posted on X.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is the US treasury department’s enforcement agency and administers sanctions.
“These are illegal actions even if the ships are not Indian-flagged. Our concern is that Indian seamen have been killed and no regret has been expressed by CENTCOM,” Sibal said.
“If India and the US cooperate on maritime security in the Indian Ocean, hold elaborate naval exercises, subscribe to the concept of the Indo-Pacific, the US can’t be indifferent to killing Indian seamen in the Indian Ocean whatever the circumstances.”
While the Congress and the CPM castigated India’s weak response on Thursday, Rahul upped the ante on Friday morning by questioning the Prime Minister’s silence.
“Three Indians have been killed in US attacks on three ships in international waters within three days. And our Compromised PM? Not a single word,” he said in a poston X.
“When any foreign power murders an Indian, the Prime Minister has to speak up. But heaven forbid he should utter even one word. Next week at the G7, just days after the murder of our sailors, Modi ji will smile, embrace, and sign agreements — but for those three Indians, he won’t have a word to spare,” Rahul added.
“A Compromised PM cannot protect the sons of Mother India, because he lacks either the courage or the strength to confront those who took the lives of those sons.”
Modi had till late Friday evening not spoken a word on the killing of the three Indians by the US.
Kejriwal, too, had earlier targeted Modi, pulling out his “thank you” message to the US President the day before in response to Donald Trump congratulating him on having become the country’s longest-serving elected Prime Minister.
“PM Modi is saying ‘thank you’ to Trump. Thank you for exactly what? For attacking ships with Indians on board and killing Indian nationals?” Kejriwal said.
“The situation has become hopelessly embarrassing for our country now. Modiji has completely surrendered India’s sovereignty, pride and the lives of its citizens to Trump. India needs a strong Prime Minister. Trump cannot be allowed to do whatever he pleases with our country and our people.”
International Maritime Organisation secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez has condemned the attack on the oil tanker Settebello, and the United Nations on Friday said it supported and seconded the language he had used.
“I strongly condemn any act from any party that endangers the lives of seafarers and the safety of international shipping. This is simply unacceptable,” Dominguez had said.
Late on Friday evening, Trump alleged that Iran had sent drones to attack Indian ships leaving the Hormuz Strait on Thursday night.
“Their totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against Indian Ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,” he said in a Truth Social post.
There have been no reports of such a strike over the past 24 hours, though.
In April, Iranian navy gunboats had hit two India-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and the external affairs ministry had summoned Iran’s ambassador.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has condemned the US attack on merchant vessels with Indian crew members.
“The brutal US attacks on Indian commercial vessels, which have killed at least three Indian nationals, stand as clear evidence of America’s ongoing policy of armed robbery and State piracy…,” he said.
“The international community must hold the United States accountable for its lawless conduct, which continues to threaten global peace and security while endangering the freedom of navigation.”