Attacks on ships ‘unacceptable’, says India; Trump blames Iran

While condemning the recent US attacks on three Indian-manned ships that resulted in the deaths of three Indian sailors, Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, described them as “attacks on Indian merchant vessels”.

Freely and publicly available information shows that all three ships, while formally foreign-flagged, have deeper Indian ties than just the crew on board, including potentially ownership and management. Two of the ships served Indian ports and facilitated Iranian oil trade with India.

Map showing the approximate locations of US decommissioned vessels near the Strait of Hormuz

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On Thursday (June 11, 2026), the Ministry of External Affairs said the ships were carrying a foreign flag and said the Indian deaths were accidental collateral damage in the ongoing conflict, quashing any notion of US targeting of Indians.

However, on Friday (June 12, 2026), the ministry summoned US Embassy chargé d’affaires Jason Meeks for the second time in three days and lodged a “strong protest”. “The ministry has reiterated its deep concern over the use of lethal and lethal force against civilian shipping. Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime trade in a sensitive region at a difficult time,” the ministry said in a press statement.

The American envoy was called on by Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur, Additional Secretary (America) in the Ministry.

Mr Meeks’ summons came hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to fly to France, where he is expected to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G-7 summit.

Meanwhile, in a post on Truthsocial, Mr Trump on Friday (June 12, 2026) accused Iran of carrying out “completely unacceptable” drone attacks on Indian ships “leaving the Strait of Hormuz” that were “rejected”, apparently by the United States. However, all three ships were on the return journey and did not leave the return journey.

After the G-7 summit, India is all set to host the 28th IORA Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) meeting on June 15-16, where the issue of attacks on civilians working on merchant vessels and oil tankers operating in the Indian Ocean is likely to come up. The CSO is the second highest decision-making body of IORA and includes senior representatives of member state governments.

Strong Indian ties

Shipping experts say many Indians own and operate ships that meet India’s oil needs and handle Russian and, to a lesser extent, Iranian oil. Since the U.S. has imposed sanctions on both countries, these ships are registered in so-called “flags of convenience” countries with minimal control and oversight. The use of such flags and frequent changes of names, flags and ownership are a worldwide feature of such ships.

The Marivex, which was hit by a US missile on Monday (June 8, 2026), is owned by Arihant Shipping, registered in Panama, according to the Equasis database. Opencorporates.com lists six Indian names associated with the company – director, president and so on. The Marivex was one of the first ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz when the ceasefire was declared in early April, carrying Iranian oil bound for Mangalore. Since then he has been serving Karwar as well.

The Settebello, which was hit on Wednesday, was the ship on which three Indian sailors died. Her manager, IOS Marine FZE, owned by a company in the United Arab Emirates, disputed US Centcom’s version that the ship’s crew “repeatedly disobeyed instructions from US sources”, saying the ship had received no warnings or calls and the US Navy had made no contact with the ship.

Settebello was flagged by United Against Nuclear Iran, a US-based non-profit organization, which included it on its “Ghost Armada” list for trading Iranian oil. A statement from IOS Marine said the company had no connection to Iran or Iranian oil and sought evidence of the U.S.

Meanwhile, Jalveer, the Guinea Bissau-registered ship that was hit on Thursday (June 11, 2026), has publicly listed One Person Company in Mumbai as responsible for safety compliance. Its last port of call, according to marinetraffic.com, was Dighi in Maharashtra. A carrier of bitumen, its cargo is widely used in road laying in India.

Published – 12 Jun 2026 07:48 IST