New Delhi: Washington has publicly brushed aside India’s protest over recent US strikes on three oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman that killed three Indian sailors. After external affairs minister S. Jaishankar lodged a protest directly with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Department issued a readout essentially rebutting India’s contention that the use of force against commercial shipping was unjustified.In a social media post shortly after speaking to Rubio on the night of Friday (June 12), Jaishankar said he had conveyed India’s “strong protest” over the attacks by the US Navy that killed three Indian mariners.“Spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this evening. I reiterated India’s strong protest at the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners,” Jaishankar, who is on a European tour, had written on social media platform X.“Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified,” he added.Spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this evening. 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.— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) June 12, 2026But in a readout released on Saturday morning in Washington, more than 18 hours after Jaishankar publicly disclosed the call, the US State Department made no reference to India’s protest or to the deaths of the three sailors.Instead, according to the American account, Rubio “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 further underscored that “violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated”.The statement amounted to Washington publicly rejecting the thrust of India’s objections and forcefully defending the attacks that have already led India to summon the US mission twice in a week and describe the use of “lethal and deadly force” against civilian shipping as “unacceptable”.Earlier on Friday, India summoned US embassy deputy chief of mission Jason Meeks for the second time this week and lodged another protest over repeated attacks on commercial vessels carrying Indian mariners in the Gulf of Oman.The diplomatic démarche came two days after New Delhi summoned Meeks to protest the June 10 attack on the Palau-flagged tanker MT Settebello, in which three Indian sailors were killed. It is understood that US ambassador Sergio Gor remains outside India.Unlike the earlier summons, which took place late in the evening without public visibility, Friday’s meeting occurred during working hours with television cameras positioned outside and inside the ministry headquarters.In a statement issued after Meeks met Additional Secretary (Americas) Nagaraj Naidu on Friday, the ministry of external affairs said a “strong protest” had been conveyed regarding continuing attacks by US naval forces on commercial vessels carrying Indian mariners, which had already resulted in the “tragic and avoidable loss of three Indian lives”.“The ministry once again conveyed its deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping. Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time,” the statement said.The MEA added that Meeks had been asked to convey India’s concerns to Washington and ensure that US forces operating in the region take all necessary measures to prevent the loss of civilian life.Later on Friday, however, US President Donald Trump claimed that Iran had attempted to hit Indian ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz in a “totally unacceptable” move that was ultimately “rebuffed”.Since June 8, three confirmed incidents of US military striking oil tankers have been reported in the Gulf of Oman, involving ships carrying Indian sailors.The first involved the tanker MT Marivex, whose 24 Indian crew members were rescued after the vessel was struck.At the time, the Indian government largely echoed Washington’s description of the episode. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the vessel had been “disabled” and noted that there had been communication between the ship and the US Navy before the incident.The muted response contrasted with New Delhi’s reaction when Iranian forces fired on an Indian vessel earlier in the conflict. In April, India summoned Iran’s ambassador after the Indian-flagged container ship MV Sanmar Herald came under Iranian naval fire in the Strait of Hormuz.The second incident involved the Palau-flagged tanker MT Settebello.India condemned the attack on the commercial vessel and later summoned the US chargé d’affaires after it emerged that three Indian crew members had died.The sailors were identified as deck cadet Aditya Sharma, engine fitter Shivanand Chaurasia and chief engineer Patnala Suresh.New Delhi subsequently stated that Settebello was a commercial vessel that was not sanctioned by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets ControlThe third incident involved MT Jalveer, which US Central Command acknowledged targeting on June 11. Also read: India Summons US Diplomat, Lodges Fresh Protest After Third Tanker AttackCENTCOM said the vessel had allegedly attempted to transport Iranian oil in violation of the ongoing US blockade. According to the US military, an American aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with instructions from US forces. All 20 Indian crew members were subsequently evacuated ashore in Oman.The latest diplomatic confrontation comes amid growing criticism of the government’s handling of the incidents following confirmation that the three Indian sailors missing from Settebello had died.Leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of remaining silent despite the deaths.“When any foreign power murders an Indian, the Prime Minister has to speak up,” Gandhi wrote on X on Friday.He added that Modi was expected to attend the G7 summit in France next week “just days after the murder of our sailors”, where he would “smile, embrace, and sign agreements – but for those three Indians, he won’t have a word to spare”.The deaths of three Indian sailors in US attacks on commercial shipping have added a fresh point of friction ahead of a bilateral meeting between Modi and Trump at the G7 summit in France on Wednesday, which the White House confirmed on Saturday.Bilateral ties have faced strains in the one and half year since their last in-person encounter in February 2025. The period has seen the fallout from Operation Sinoor, Trump’s repeated claims that he brokered the India-Pakistan ceasefire, growing concern in New Delhi over Washington’s perceived closeness to Pakistan, and the imposition of the highest US tariffs on Indian goods.The State Department’s response to Jaishankar’s protest also drew criticism from former foreign secretary and JNU chancellor Kanwal Sibal, who said Rubio’s remarks amounted to an implicit justification for the killing of Indian mariners. Noting that the US statement contained no expression of regret over the deaths, Sibal said Washington had effectively told India that it must “tolerate the killing of its mariners because the US will not tolerate the violation of its unilateral blockade”. He added that Rubio had “snubbed” India and “raised the ante”.Congress MP and chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs Shashi Tharoor likewise criticised the US statement, saying it was “deeply shocking” that it contained “absolutely no expression of regret or condolence for the loss of innocent Indian lives”. Questioning whether a commercial vessel could have been stopped through non-lethal means, Tharoor asked whether Indian crew members aboard merchant ships transiting the region were now to be considered “fair game for US missiles”. He described the approach as “unacceptable” and said he hoped Jaishankar had conveyed that message directly to Rubio.The deaths of three Indian sailors in US attacks on commercial shipping have added a fresh point of friction ahead of the expected meeting.Meanwhile, Dubai-based IOS Marine FZE, which manages MT Settebello, has challenged the US military’s account of the attack and called for an independent international investigation.The company said no warning or communication had been successfully established with the vessel before force was used.“No warning call, message or communication was ever successfully established with the vessel prior to the actions taken against it,” it said.The company also rejected suggestions that the tanker had links to Iran.India’s largest seafarers’ union has similarly called for an independent inquiry into the attacks, arguing that civilian maritime workers were being placed in danger by the escalating conflict in the region.Meanwhile, the ministry of external affairs’ fact-check unit has described social media claims of a fourth US strike in the Gulf of Oman as “false and baseless”.Fake News Alert!Please stay alert against such false and baseless claims and posts on social media. pic.twitter.com/Xn8I65LdKu— MEA FactCheck (@MEAFactCheck) June 13, 2026Reiterating a similar position, the Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI) said reports of an attack on MT Liaki Freedom were incorrect, stating on social media, “Negative. No attack on ship.”FSUI on Saturday also highlighted the case of Nishanth Uirthanathan, a second officer from Tamil Nadu serving aboard MT Celestial off the Oman coast. The union said he died on June 11 after falling seriously ill and alleged that delays in medical evacuation amid the regional tensions had prevented him from receiving timely treatment.According to the union, his body had remained aboard the vessel for more than two days without proper refrigeration facilities. It called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident and urged authorities to facilitate preservation and repatriation of the body.In a separate statement, All India Seafarers Union warned of a broader humanitarian crisis affecting Indian sailors stranded aboard merchant vessels in and around the Persian Gulf and Iranian waters.The union cited reports from crew members aboard MV Pascal near Bandar Abbas in Iran alleging shortages of food, drinking water, electricity and medical support. It urged Indian authorities, shipowners and international maritime bodies to take steps to assist affected crews and facilitate relief measures.