Key facts
- Iran denies US President Donald Trump's claims of an Iranian drone attack on Indian ships.
- Iran accuses the US military of attacking three Indian vessels in the Gulf of Oman, resulting in three sailor deaths.
- India summoned the US charge d'affaires to protest the "unacceptable" US strikes.
- The US Central Command confirmed disabling three vessels attempting to violate its blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran has refuted claims made by US President Donald Trump regarding an Iranian drone attack on Indian ships in the Strait of Hormuz, labeling the accusations as "simply baseless." The Iranian embassy in New Delhi suggested that Trump's statements were an attempt to distract from recent US military actions.
According to the embassy, the US has attacked three Indian vessels within a week, resulting in the deaths of three Indian sailors. India has summoned US charge d'affaires Jason Meeks to express its strong disapproval of these "lethal and deadly" strikes on commercial vessels carrying Indian crew members.
Developments indicate that on June 8, US forces disabled the Palau-flagged oil tanker Marivex, which carried 24 Indian seafarers who were safely rescued. Subsequently, on June 10, another Palau-flagged tanker, Settebello, was struck by the US, leading to the deaths of three of its 24 Indian sailors. A third vessel, the Guinea-Bissau-flagged Jalveer, with 20 Indian crew members, was attacked on Thursday.
The US Central Command acknowledged initiating action to disable three vessels—Marivex on June 8, Settebello on June 9, and MT Jalveer on June 11—stating they were attempting to violate the US blockade of Iranian ports. Two of the targeted vessels were reportedly subject to sanctions administered by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces sanctions related to Iranian and Russian oil sales.