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

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, Anadolu reports.

“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 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 U.S. blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated.”

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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 US social media company X.

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

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.

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