Three Indian sailors missing after US says it hit tanker in Gulf of Oman
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- US Central Command said an aircraft fired precision munitions into the engine room of the Palau-flagged Settebello after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with American forces' directions, accusing the vessel of violating the blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran.
- India's government said three Indian sailors were missing and 21 Indian crew members had been rescued, and demanded an end to "targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region."
- India summoned the deputy head of the US mission in Delhi following the strike, according to officials — a rare diplomatic step over casualties to Indian nationals in a US military operation.
- Centcom has disabled eight vessels and redirected 134 others since launching its blockade of Iran's ports on 13 April, imposed after Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world's oil and gas supplies are transported.
- US forces hit another Palau-flagged, Indian-crewed tanker — the Marivex — earlier the same week in the Gulf of Oman after it also failed to comply; all 24 crew were rescued by the Omani military.
- President Trump threatened on Wednesday to hit Iran "hard," saying Tehran was taking too long to sign a peace deal and was playing Americans "for suckers."
Why it matters: India summoning a senior US diplomat over nationals lost in a US strike is an unusually sharp reaction from a country Washington courts as a strategic partner, and it lands while Centcom's blockade has already disabled eight vessels in a waterway carrying roughly 20% of global oil and gas. With Trump openly threatening to escalate against Iran and a second Indian-crewed tanker hit in the same week, Indian seafarers are now operating inside a widening US-Iran confrontation that is producing casualties beyond its original bilateral scope.
