Published on 12/6/2026
Today, Friday, India summoned the US Chargé d’Affairs in New Delhi, Jason Meeks, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and handed him a protest note following the killing of 3 Indian sailors in a US attack that targeted an oil tanker off the coast of the Sultanate of Oman.
Indian official sources told Anadolu Agency that the Indian Foreign Ministry summoned the US Chargé d’Affairs for the second time this week and handed him a note of protest against the attack.
The sources explained that this is the second protest note submitted by New Delhi, after a previous note following the United States targeting a commercial ship in Omani waters.
The Indian Minister of Ports, Maritime Affairs and Waterways, Sarpana Nanda Sonowal, had announced that 3 sailors were killed in an attack carried out by the US military, last Wednesday, on the oil tanker “MT Sitipilo”, flying the flag of Palau, off the coast of Oman, and had a crew of 24 people on board, all of whom held Indian citizenship.
The incident comes amid ongoing security tensions in the Gulf region and the Strait of Hormuz, where several similar incidents were recorded in the past weeks, including ships being hit by unknown projectiles or attacks by drones, in the context of the American-Israeli war on Iran.
On February 28, the United States and Israel began a war against Iran, which responded with attacks on Israel and what it said were American interests in the countries of the region. Then Tehran and Washington reached a temporary ceasefire on April 8.
