Violations of the US blockade on Iran ‘will not be tolerated’, Rubio tells India’s Jaishankar

Violations of the US blockade of Iranian ports “will not be tolerated”, US State Secretary Marco Rubio told India’s top diplomat, who said US strikes in the Gulf killed three Indian nationals.

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke yesterday with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The two officials discussed recent events in the Strait of Hormuz,” a statement by the State Department said on Saturday.

“The secretary stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait. He underscored that violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated.”

Read: India again summons US diplomat, lodges protest over attacks on vessels off Oman

On Friday, India’s External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said that in talks with Rubio, he protested US attacks on vessels off the coast of Oman amid the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

“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 wrote on X.

Also on Friday, India summoned the top US diplomat in New Delhi for the second time in a week to protest the attacks, official sources told Anadolu.

On Thursday, the Indian government said that at least three Indians were killed after US forces targeted the vessels off the coast of Oman.

According to the US Central Command, this week it disabled the Guinea-Bissau-flagged M/T Jalveer and Palau-flagged tankers M/T Marivex and M/T Settebello for trying to transport Iranian oil.