New Delhi summons Iranian envoy after Indian-flagged tankers shot at near Strait of Hormuz

New Delhi on Saturday summoned Iran’s ambassador to convey the country’s “deep concern” after two Indian-flagged vessels came under attack near the Strait of Hormuz, India’s foreign ministry said.

In a statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Iran’s Ambassador to India Dr Mohammad Fathali was summoned “for a meeting with [the] foreign secretary this evening”.

During the meeting, the foreign secretary “conveyed India’s deep concern at the shooting incident earlier today involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz”, the MEA said.

“He noted the importance that India attached to the safety of merchant shipping and mariners and recalled that Iran had earlier facilitated the safe passage of several ships bound for India.”

Reiterating his concern at “this serious incident of firing on merchant ships”, the foreign secretary urged the ambassador to convey India’s views to the authorities in Iran and “resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the strait”.

The MEA noted that the Iranian envoy “undertook to convey these views to the Iranian authorities”.

Reporting the development, Indian news agency ANI shared a video of the Iranian ambassador leaving the MEA in the evening.

After briefly reopening the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, Iran on Saturday morning declared that the waterway was closed for commercial ships once again due to the United States’ continued blockade of its ports.

Reuters, citing an Indian government source, reported that an Indian-flagged vessel carrying crude oil, identified as the Sanmar Herald, was attacked while attempting to cross the strait. The source said that the crew on board and the vessel were safe.

Shipping sources said at least two vessels reported coming under fire while trying to transit the waterway.

Maritime security and shipping sources said some merchant vessels received radio messages from Iran’s navy saying no ships were allowed through the waterway.

Earlier, maritime trackers had shown a convoy of eight tankers transiting the narrow passage in the first major movement of ships since the US-Israeli war on Iran began seven weeks ago.