A deadly confrontation in the Gulf of Oman has escalated tensions around U.S. sanctions enforcement against Iran, after American military forces disabled a tanker linked to Tehran’s illicit oil trade, leaving three Indian crew members dead and triggering a formal diplomatic protest from New Delhi.
An anonymous U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not cleared to discuss the sensitive operation publicly, has provided new details about the hours-long standoff preceding the strike. According to the official, the Palau-flagged M/T Settebello — identified by Washington as part of Iran’s “shadow fleet” of vessels used to evade international oil sanctions and break the U.S. blockade on Iranian crude exports — ignored nearly 60 distinct verbal warnings from U.S. forces over the course of the standoff. Even after eight separate shows of force, including low-altitude flybys by military aircraft and the deployment of warning flares, the vessel’s crew refused to alter course or comply with orders. Two final, explicit warnings were issued before U.S. forces opened fire on Wednesday.
Earlier official confirmations from the U.S. military note that a U.S. aircraft launched precision munitions directly into the tanker’s engine room to disable the vessel. Indian government officials have verified that three Indian nationals working aboard the Settebello were killed in the strike. The U.S. official added that American forces had maintained contact with the tanker repeatedly across the two weeks leading up to the incident, as the vessel made multiple attempts to breach the U.S. blockade.
In an official statement released after the operation, U.S. Central Command clarified that the tanker’s crew was given a full 15-minute window to evacuate the engine room before the strike was carried out. “After being in place for more than 60 days, it should be clear by now that U.S. forces will strictly enforce the blockade,” the statement added.
The incident has already sparked immediate diplomatic tension between Washington and New Delhi. India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed it has lodged a “strong protest” with U.S. authorities over the deaths of its citizens. On Saturday, the U.S. State Department released a readout of a call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and India’s top foreign affairs official, in which Rubio emphasized that “all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from U.S. forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait.”