The Indian government has decided to quash the circulating claims that it is cooperating with the United Arab Emirates to evacuate Indian citizens through Fujairah port amid the ongoing war in Iran, terming the reports as completely baseless.
Fujairah evacuation claims by India and UAE false, says Ministry of External Affairs
Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and growing anxiety among Indian nationals in the region, claims have surfaced widely online that India has coordinated with the United Arab Emirates to evacuate its citizens through the port of Fujairah. The Indian government has now formally denied the reports.
“There is no factual basis for such a story. No evacuation is planned. Please be vigilant against such false and baseless claims,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X on Monday.
The clarification comes as the wider Iran war enters a dangerous new phase, with peace talks between Washington and Tehran failing to reach an agreement and oil markets reacting sharply to the prospect of renewed conflict.
Trump rejects Iran’s peace proposal and considers the terms totally unacceptable
US President Donald Trump rejected Tehran’s response to Washington’s latest peace proposal and described Iran’s counter-conditions in unequivocal language on his Truth Social platform.
“I just read the response from the so-called ‘representatives’ of Iran. I don’t like it – ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE!” Trump said.
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Iran responded to the latest U.S. proposal on Sunday, warning it would not hold back from retaliating against any new U.S. strikes or allow more foreign warships to enter the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has not disclosed the specific content of Tehran’s counter-proposal, but has made it clear that he will not accept it.
The collapse of the talks sent shockwaves through global energy markets almost immediately. International benchmark Brent crude rose 4.65 percent to $99.95 a barrel in early Asian trading on Monday. Benchmark U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also climbed just over 4 percent to $105.5 a barrel as investors braced for further disruptions to oil supplies across the strait, where Tehran has imposed a partial blockade.
Netanyahu says the war will not end until Iran’s nuclear facilities are dismantled
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose forces launched a war against Iran alongside the United States on February 28, has added another condition to any potential end to the conflict, insisting that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure must be removed before hostilities can be halted.
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“It’s not over because there is still nuclear material – enriched uranium – that needs to be taken out of Iran. There are still enrichment facilities that need to be dismantled,” Netanyahu said on CBS’ 60 Minutes.
The statement signals that even if Washington and Tehran reach a diplomatic deal, Israel’s involvement imposes another layer of conditions that would need to be met before a stable ceasefire could occur.
40 nations outline military contributions for Strait of Hormuz mission
More than 40 countries gathered on Monday to detail their military contributions to a European-led naval mission to escort merchant ships safely through the Strait of Hormuz once a stable ceasefire is in place.
The countries are expected to offer demining, escort and air policing capabilities as part of a defense operation led by the UK and France.
“We are turning a diplomatic agreement into practical military plans to restore confidence in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” said British Defense Secretary John Healey, who is co-chairing Monday’s gathering alongside his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin.
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Iran responded quickly and forcefully. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi warned that any such deployment would be seen as an act of escalation and would be met with a direct military response.
“Any deployment and placement of extra-regional destroyers around the Strait of Hormuz under the pretext of ‘protection of shipping’ is nothing more than an escalation of the crisis, a militarization of a vital waterway and an attempt to cover up the real root of insecurity in the region,” Gharibabadi said on X.
Iran’s response would be “decisive and immediate,” he added.
Oil tankers leave the Strait of Hormuz with transponders turned off
On the ground, the effects of the partial blockade are already visible in shipping data. Two large oil tankers left the Strait of Hormuz last week with their tracking transponders turned off, according to data from analytics company Kpler, in what analysts describe as a growing trend among vessels trying to avoid Iran’s attention.
The very large oil carrier Basrah Energy loaded two million barrels of Upper Zakum crude oil from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s Zirku terminal on May 1 and left the strait with its transponder disabled on May 6. She subsequently unloaded her cargo at the Fujairah oil tanker terminals on 8 May.
Read also | Trump rejects Iran’s response to US proposal, calls it ‘completely unacceptable’
A second very large oil tanker, the Kiara M, left the Gulf on Sunday also with its transponder off, carrying two million barrels of Iraqi oil. The destination of this cargo was not confirmed at the time of publication.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and its buyers have moved several tankers through the strait in recent weeks in an effort to move oil stuck in the Persian Gulf as a result of the ongoing conflict. The practice of decommissioning transponders, while carrying significant navigational risk, has proven to be an increasingly common solution for operators trying to maintain export flows under conditions of active threat.
