A Palau-flagged vessel named Settebello, which has become the center of a standoff between India and the United States, ignored close to 60 verbal warnings before coming under fire from US forces last week. The incident resulted in the deaths of three Indian nationals.
US Official Details Sequence of Events
According to remarks by a US official reported by the Associated Press from Washington, the vessel also did not heed repeated displays of force by military aircraft, including flares and flyovers, which were meant to warn against violating the American blockade in the Gulf of Oman.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that the tanker was disabled by the American military while attempting to run the US blockade of Iran. The crew ignored eight shows of force by military aircraft, which included fired flares and flyovers, as well as two final warnings before being fired upon.
Diplomatic Reactions
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar raised the issue with his counterpart Marco Rubio, describing the use of lethal force against civilian shipping as unacceptable. Rubio responded by stating that the US would not tolerate any attempt to evade the blockade.
The latest remarks by the US official, which sequence the developments leading to the attack, are possibly intended to convey to Indian authorities that US forces did not act recklessly in launching strikes on Settebello and two other foreign-flagged ships over the past week. The US has yet to express any regret for the deaths of the Indian mariners.
Rescue Operations and Upcoming Meeting
The US Navy had on Sunday alerted shore authorities and the Indian Navy about a sinking dhow with 14 Indians aboard and also assisted in rescue operations.
The vessel attack issue is expected to come up in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France. This will be their first meeting since February 2025, when Modi traveled to Washington for a bilateral visit.
The official described the vessel as a shadow fleet ship that had been used to illegally transfer Iranian oil and evade sanctions, and was seen attempting to break the blockade multiple times. The official also noted that US forces communicated with the ship dozens of times over two weeks before the day the ship was disabled.
