Rubio tells Jaishankar US will not tolerate violations of Iranian oil blockade through Hormuz

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday (June 13) said that any violation of the American blockade and illicit transport of Iranian oil through the Strait of Hormuz will not be tolerated, an official statement said.Rubio conveyed this to Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who spoke with him on Friday (June 12) to lodge a strong protest against the death of Indian nationals in US attacks on ships off the coast of Oman.

“The Secretary stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
Also Read: Rubio says US prefers ‘good agreement’ with Iran, warns of ‘another way’ if talks failRubio underscored that violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated, Pigott said in a statement here.

India on Friday summoned Charge d’Affaires Jason Meeks and told him that the American military’s lethal strikes on commercial vessels with Indian crew members off the coast of Oman are unacceptable.

A Palau-flagged oil tanker, Marivex, carrying 24 Indian seafarers, was disabled by US forces on June 8. All crew members were safely rescued.

On June 10, the US struck another Palau-flagged tanker, Settebello, killing three out of the 24 Indian sailors on board. Another vessel, Jalveer, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker with 20 Indians, was attacked on Thursday.