New Delhi, June 14 -- External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar called US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the evening of June 13 and told him that the killing of three Indian mariners by US Navy strikes on commercial tankers in the Gulf of Oman was unjustified. "I reiterated India's strong protest at the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners," Jaishankar said. "Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified." The State Department's readout of the same call contained no expression of regret. It warned instead that commercial vessels must "comply with orders from US forces" and that violations of the US blockade on Iranian oil exports "will not be tolerated."

The three dead sailors were abo...