Iran-US conflict: An Indian sailor was killed on Monday when an unmanned drone laden with explosives struck the Marshall Islands-flagged MKD Vyom oil tanker off the coast of Oman amid an ongoing standoff between Israel, the US and Iran.
The Indian Embassy in Muscat condoled the death of the Indian crew member and said it was “in close coordination with the local authorities in Oman to facilitate the safe and early repatriation of our nationals on board the vessel”.
“We remain committed to extending all possible assistance in this matter,” the embassy said in a statement on X.
Oman’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the attack resulted in a fire and explosion in the engine room and the death of one crew member. The remaining 21 crew members were evacuated, PTI said citing a statement.
Clash between Israel, USA and Iran
The death of the Indian crew member comes amid retaliatory strikes by Iran on Gulf countries after the US and Israel jointly attacked the Islamic Republic on Saturday, February 28. Iran has reportedly threatened vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz and carried out a wave of attacks targeting mostly Israel and US military bases in several Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, the AP reported.
According to a report by news channel PTI, Tehran’s retaliation reportedly increased after Iranian state television confirmed Khamenei’s death in the attacks.
Why did Iran target US bases in the Middle East?
After its retaliatory missile fire — reported across parts of the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Israel and Iraq — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the attacks were aimed at sites linked to US and Israeli operations.
“Iranian armed forces consider the locations from which American and Zionist operations were carried out as legitimate targets,” FM Abbas Araghchi said on Iranian television.
Earlier, Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, wrote a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the President of the Security Council, warning that US bases, facilities and assets would be “legitimate targets” of Iran if the United States continued its military threats and attacks.
“Netanyahu’s Office, Israeli Air Force Headquarters Targeted”
Earlier in the day, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed that their rocket attacks targeted the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the headquarters of the Israeli Air Force.
“The mission was the office of the criminal prime minister of the Zionist regime and the headquarters of the commander of the regime’s air force,” the guards said in a statement carried by the Fars news agency.
Amid escalating tensions, Dubai’s airports were closed – flights to and from Middle Eastern cities were severely disrupted. After three days of massive airport cancellations, it said in a statement that “limited” flights would resume from Monday evening, AFP reported.
