After death of 3 Indian sailors, Rubio tells Jaishankar all vessels should comply with US blockade in Strait of Hormuz

US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott, on Saturday, said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that all commercial vessels should comply with US forces' orders as they seek to uphold peace in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement released, Pigott said, "US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke yesterday with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The two officials discussed recent events in the Strait of Hormuz. The Secretary stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from U.S. forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait. He underscored that violations of the U.S. blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated."

India protests death of three mariners in US attacks

The statement from the US State Department comes a day after S. Jaishankar spoke with Rubio and lodged a protest against the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian seafarers. Following his conversation with the US Secretary of State, Jaishankar, in a post on X, wrote, "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. Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified."

Earlier this week, three vessels carrying Indian crew members came under attack off the coast of Oman, and during one of the incidents, which occurred on Wednesday, three seafarers lost their lives.

Earlier on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks to protest attacks on commercial vessels off the coast of Oman. The latest development came after an attack on another vessel carrying 20 Indian crew members was reported a day earlier. The US envoy was summoned by the MEA's Additional Secretary (Americas), marking the second time the MEA has called in the US mission. Meanwhile, three Indian seafarers who were initially reported missing were confirmed dead in one of the attacks.

New Delhi's decision to summon Meeks marks the first public acknowledgment of the US Navy directly launching attacks on commercial vessels carrying Indian nationals. According to official data, the American military has targeted three foreign-flagged merchant vessels operating with Indian crew members off the coast of Oman over four days.

Blame game erupts over attack on Indian seafarers

As India protested against the attack on Indian mariners, a blame game has now erupted between the US and Iran over responsibility for the attack.

Hours after India summoned the US Chargé d’Affaires, Iran criticised the attack on vessels with Indian crew members. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, extended condolences to the bereaved families and the Indian government. "We extend our sympathies to the families and friends of the slain Indian sailors and offer our sincere condolences to the Indian people and government," he said in a post on X.

However, in a Truth Social post, US President Donald Trump claimed that Iran was responsible for its rebuffed drone attack on Indian ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz, calling it "totally unacceptable."

He wrote, "Their totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against Indian Ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. They better get their act together, and FAST!"

On Saturday, the blame game continued, with the Iranian embassy in India rejecting Trump's allegations and calling them "baseless." The embassy also accused Washington of attempting to deflect attention from recent attacks on commercial vessels carrying Indian seafarers.

It claimed that the US had attacked three Indian vessels in less than a week, describing the actions as "brutal" and "pathetic."

In a post on X, the official account of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in India shared: "The U.S. president's accusation against Iran regarding an Indian vessel in the Strait of Hormuz is simply baseless. It is an attempt to divert public attention from the brutal fact that the U.S. has attacked 3 Indian vessels in less than a week and killed 3 innocent Indian sailors. That's pathetic!"