The row over the killing of three Indian seafarers in a US missile strike on a ship near Oman escalated Friday when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and conveyed India’s strong protest over the attacks on commercial vessels by the US Navy trying to enforce a naval blockade of Iran.
Jaishankar, who was in Finland on a bilateral visit, called up Rubio, hours after the Ministry of External Affairs summoned the US charge d’affaires Jason Meeks for the second time in less than 48 hours over the attacks.
“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,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.
A phone call at the level of Foreign Ministers to lodge a protest signals the seriousness with which India views the incident.
Rubio was in India last month, on a visit to repair ties that dived in 2025 following the Trump administration’s announcement of tariffs on India. India and the US are currently firming up a bilateral trade deal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reached France Saturday, will be attending the meeting of the G7 at Evian-les-Bains on June 16-17 and it is likely that he will have a conversation with US President on the sidelines of the summit.
French diplomatic sources said President Emmanuel Macron will host a meeting on West Asia on the summit margins. Leaders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman are expected to attend. Modi and Trump too have been invited to the meeting – both the US and Iran have indicated that they are nearing a deal to end the crisis in West Asia.
The US attacks on commercial ships sailing near Oman – three Indian seafarers on board the MT Settebello were killed – have led to an uproar in India. US CDA Meeks was summoned to the MEA twice and told in clear terms about the “deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping”, that “such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time”.
