Kochi: Iran attacked on Tuesday two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one Indian mariner and wounding nine others, two of them seriously, media reports quoting United Arab Emirates’ Defence Ministry said.
The Ministry of External Affairs summoned the Deputy Chief of Mission, Mohammad Javad Hosseini, of the Embassy of Iran in New Delhi and lodged a “strong protest” against these attacks.
Iran’s cruise missiles hit tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah setting them ablaze which was extinguished.
The sailor who was killed was onboard MT Al Bahiyah and another was injured. The 9 persons who sustained injuries, two of them seriously,” the MEA said.
India also “strongly condemned these attacks and acts of violence targeting seafarers and disrupting free and safe navigation through international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz.”
This is the second Iranian attack on vessels carrying Indians in four days. India on July 12 condemned the attack on the commercial vessel GFS Galaxy off the coast of Oman, saying one Indian national remains missing while 10 others have been rescued.
Last month, US strikes killed three Indian sailors aboard the tanker Settebello. India twice summoned the US embassy’s chargé d’affaires, Jason Meeks, to protest the attacks.
Iran claimed the attack on the tankers, saying the vessels “ignored repeated warnings.”
“They chose to pass through a minefield and were subsequently targeted and disabled,” the Guard said.
Bahrain also came under renewed attack early Tuesday. UAE condemned the attack, “The UAE reserves its full right to respond to this escalation and to take all necessary measures to protect its territory, its citizens and residents,” the defence ministry said.
India warns Iran as missile attack kills 1 Indian
