India lodged a strong protest with the U.S. government after military strikes on ships in the Strait of Hormuz killed three Indian sailors [1].
The incident underscores the risks faced by neutral maritime crews during the renewed conflict between the U.S., Iran, and Israel. As a major provider of global shipping labor, India is increasingly concerned about the safety of its nationals caught in geopolitical crossfire.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India called in the American Chargé d'Affaires to express deep concerns regarding the ongoing attacks. The strikes targeted vessels that the U.S. military said were violating a blockade on Iran [1, 3].
One of the targeted vessels was the MT Settebello, a Palau-flagged tanker [2]. Reports on the exact location of the strikes vary, with some sources placing the event in the Strait of Hormuz and others in the Gulf of Oman [1, 2].
"We lodged a strong protest with the American side," Jaiswal said. "We called in the American CDA, and informed them of our deepest concerns about the ongoing incidents of attacks, and we registered a strong protest with them" [3].
The Indian government considers strikes on vessels carrying Indian crew members to be unacceptable. The deaths of the three sailors [1] have prompted the ministry to demand an end to the repeated strikes on commercial shipping in the region [2].
The U.S. military has disabled several oil tankers this week as part of its enforcement of the blockade [1]. India's reaction reflects a growing tension between its strategic partnership with the U.S., and its need to protect its citizens in volatile maritime corridors.
“India lodged a strong protest with the U.S. government after military strikes on ships in the Strait of Hormuz killed three Indian sailors.”
This diplomatic friction highlights the precarious position of India, which maintains strong ties with both Washington and Tehran. By formally protesting the deaths of its sailors, India is signaling that its commitment to the safety of its global workforce outweighs the strategic imperatives of the U.S. blockade. The incident may pressure the U.S. to provide better coordination or warnings to neutral shipping companies to avoid further civilian casualties.
