NEW DELHI — India summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador to the country on Tuesday following the killing of an Indian seafarer in Iranian missile strikes on two UAE oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, an official from the foreign ministry in New Delhi said.
The NDTV news channel reported Deputy Chief of Mission Mohammad Javad Hosseini and other Iranian diplomats were summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs to lodge a protest over the killing. Social media videos showed the Iranian diplomats apparently leaving the ministry after the meeting.
The Indian seafarer was a crew member of th Mombasa hit by Iranian cruise missiles in Omani waters. Eight other people were wounded, with six of them Indian nationals.
India’s foreign ministry later said ten of its nationals had been rescued from the vessel after it was struck off the coast of Oman but that one of its nationals was missing.
Expressing condolences, the Indian Embassy in the UAE said, “We are closely monitoring the situation and are in touch with the local authorities to render all possible assistance to the injured and families.”
India is one of the largest suppliers of merchant marine labor, with more than 300,000 seafarers globally, according to the country’s Forward Seamen’s Union.
In June, US forces enforcing a blockade on Iran’s ports launched a strike on a Palau-flagged vessel, killing three Indian sailors and sparking outrage in India.
Source: Saudi Gazette