US rains Hellfire missiles on Jalveer crewed by 20 Indians, says blockade impartial

In the third attack on Indian-crewed ships in four days around the Gulf of Oman, American forces hit MT Jalveer on Thursday with two Hellfire missiles. Twenty Indian sailors on the ship had to be rescued after the attack, which the US said was a result of the blockade being "enforced impartially against vessels of all nations".

The Hellfire missiles were fired into the oil tanker's engine room from an American aircraft, the US Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement issued from Florida on Wednesday (US time).

"US Central Command (CENTCOM) acted against Guinea-Bissau flagged M/T Jalveer as it attempted to transport oil from Iran through the Gulf of Oman. A US aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the ship's engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from US forces," it said. For context, the Hellfire missile is an American air-to-ground, precision-guided missile primarily used for anti-armor strikes and neutralizing high-value targets

"The blockade is being enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman," the CENTCOM said in the statement.

The attack on MT Jalveer is the third in four days that a ship being crewed by Indians had come under attack by US forces near Oman. The US is trying to enforce a strict blockade around the Gulf of Oman so that tankers with Iranian oil cannot leave any port in Iran.

The US forces targeted MT Marivax on Monday and MT Settebello on Tuesday. Both the oil tankers were Palau-flagged and had Indian sailors. Three of the 24 Indian sailors on MT Setebello are believed to have been killed in the attack.

India denounced the attack on Settebello, which was struck with precision munitions while it was transiting the Gulf of Oman, and summoned the US charge d'affaires Jason Meeks on Wednesday. He was issued a demarche over the attack, the strongest diplomatic stand that India took during the second term of President Donald Trump.

Unlike Marivax, Settebello was not blacklisted by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, according to reports.

There were 20 Indian sailors on Jalveer, which was hit with the Hellfire missiles on Thursday, and all of them have been rescued, according to the government.

India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday condemned the attack on Settebello, saying, "The continuing incidents of attacks on shipping in the region are deeply worrisome".

"The targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region must end, and free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the international waterways in the region in keeping with international law must be restored at the earliest," the MEA said.

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