Key facts
- Congress leader Manish Tewari criticized the US response to the deaths of three Indian sailors in a missile strike.
- Tewari described the US tone as "belligerent" and lacking regret, empathy, or sympathy.
- India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had previously conveyed a strong protest to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
- The US Department of State stated that commercial vessels must comply with US orders in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Tewari suggested that the US readout implied the sailors were responsible for their own deaths.
Congress leader Manish Tewari has strongly criticized the United States' reaction to the deaths of three Indian sailors in a missile strike on a merchant vessel in the Gulf. Tewari stated that the US response was "belligerent" rather than regretful, and that the tone of the US Department of State's statement following a call between India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was "very coarse."
Tewari asserted that the US readout lacked "remorse, sensitivity, empathy, [and] sympathy" for the deceased sailors. He noted that the US statement emphasized adherence to blockade orders, implying the tanker may have been violating them. "Be that as it may, the fact is that Govt of India had made its displeasure known by calling in the diplomats from the US Embassy. But obviously, it has fallen on deaf ears," Tewari told ANI.