New Delhi, June 14 -- The US will not tolerate any violations of its blockade of Iranian ports and merchant shipping should comply with orders from American forces, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said when external affairs minister S Jaishankar dialled him to protest against the death of three Indian seafarers in US attacks on ships that were "not justified". Jaishankar and Rubio spoke late on Friday, hours after the external affairs ministry summoned US charge d'affaires Jason Meeks for the second time in three days to protest against US attacks on merchant vessels with Indian crew members. A US strike on the Palau-flagged MT Settebello on June 9 killed three Indian seafarers. A terse readout on the conversation from the US state department on Saturday made no mention of the deaths of the Indian seafarers - leave alone an expression of regret - and contained no acknowledgement of New Delhi's concerns. After speaking to Rubio, Jaishankar said in a brief social media post early on Saturday morning that he had "reiterated India's strong protest at the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners". Reiterating New Delhi's stance that merchant vessels should not be targeted and there should be unimpeded freedom of navigation and commerce, he added, "Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified." The readout issued by US state department spokesperson Tommy Pigott noted that the two leaders discussed "recent events in the Strait of Hormuz" and said Rubio "stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait". Rubio also "underscored that violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated". The exchange pointed to lingering strains in India-US relations, which were taken to their lowest point in more than two decades last year by President Donald Trump's decision to levy 50% tariffs on Indian exports, including a 25% penalty over Russian oil purchases. The tensions eased somewhat after the two sides reached an understanding in February on the framework for a bilateral trade deal, including the slashing of Trump's tariffs. The US response attracted criticism in political and diplomatic circles, with Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, a former deputy foreign minister, expressing shock at the US readout, which he said "contains absolutely no expression of regret or condolence for the loss of innocent Indian lives". "How can a 'friend' and strategic partner be so deeply insensitive? Why couldn't a non-compliant commercial vessel have been stopped using other, non-lethal means?" Tharoor said on social media. "Practically every merchant ship navigating these crucial waters has Indian crew on board. Are they all considered fair game for US missiles now?" Former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal, in a social media post, said the "very harsh response" from Rubio was "implicitly justifying the killing of Indian mariners". He contended that the US is "not upholding peace and security in the Strait" and is the "cause of disturbing peace and security there by its initial attacks on Iran"....