India says three of its citizens are the first to die in the US military's bid to choke off Iran's oil revenue. As the Wall Street Journal reports, New Delhi on Thursday summoned a senior US diplomat after three Indian sailors were killed when American forces fired on the Palau-flagged tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman, part of Washington's effort to enforce an oil blockade on Tehran. "We conveyed that the welfare of our seafaring community is very important and the attacks that are happening must stop," said Randhir Jaiswal, an Indian foreign ministry rep. The ministry said 21 crew were rescued and that the bodies of the three missing sailors have now been recovered and will be returned home. "This is a profound loss to our maritime family," said Indian Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on X, per the BBC.
It was one of three tankers with Indian crews hit or disabled by US forces this week, Indian officials and US Central Command said. The Jalveer, sailing under a Guinea-Bissau flag, was struck by a US aircraft Thursday; all 20 Indian crew members survived. On Monday, the Palau-flagged Marivex was also targeted after the US said it was heading to an Iranian port in violation of the blockade. US Central Command maintains that ships such as the Settebello ignored repeated orders and warnings and were "non-compliant." The blockade, launched April 13 after stalled talks with Iran, has disabled nine ships and diverted more than 100, according to US officials.
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