India Protests Iranian Attack on UAE Oil Tankers in Strait of Hormuz

India has lodged a protest with Iran over the attack on Indian seafarers in Hormuz. Iran’s Deputy chief of mission has been summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs. The summons comes after an Indian crew member was killed when two UAE oil tankers were struck by Iranian cruise missiles in the Strait of Hormuz. The war in the Gulf has been escalating since July 6-7 when the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran ended. After the Iranian attack, the UAE’s Ministry of Defence issued a statement, saying that the two tankers, Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, came under attack while passing through the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz. The US-Iran conflict in West Asia escalated after the ceasefire came to an end on July 6-7. Iran allegedly targeted three tankers. Iran claimed the targeted vessels had ignored repeated warnings to use Tehran-authorised shipping lanes. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accused the vessels of bypassing these routes and operating with their navigation systems off.