New Delhi : India has summoned Iran’s Deputy Ambassador to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after an Iranian cruise missile strike on two UAE oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz killed an Indian crew member and injured several others, government sources said on Monday. One Indian sailor was killed in the attack, while eight crew members were injured, including six Indians and two Ukrainians. Four of the injured remain in critical condition.
India summoned Iran’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Mohammad Javad Hosseini, along with other Iranian diplomats, to seek an explanation and express its concern over the attack on commercial vessels carrying Indian nationals. Following the strike, the Ministry of External Affairs called the repeated attacks on commercial shipping “deeply worrisome” and urged all sides to reduce tensions.
The ministry also stressed that attacks on commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure must stop, and called for the restoration of free and uninterrupted navigation through international waterways in accordance with international law. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) defended the attack, accusing the United States of directing commercial vessels through what it described as an “illegal route” closer to the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz. It claimed the route was dangerous because mines had been laid in the area.
The latest attack has further heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies pass. Amid the crisis, US President Donald Trump has offered American naval protection to commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz in return for a 20% transit fee.
Read Also : Accused’s Exams and Medical Needs Stall Progress in High-Profile Murder Trial