Nuclear Neighbour of Indonesia Suddenly Rages at Trump, Summons US Diplomat
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has strongly condemned a brutal attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, 10 June 2026. Authorities in New Delhi urged an immediate de-escalation of tensions in the Strait of Hormuz region after the United States military once again bombarded a commercial vessel carrying dozens of Indian sailors.
The Indian government immediately took a very firm diplomatic confrontation step by summoning the US Chargé d’Affaires, Jason Meeks. The official summoning of the senior diplomat was conducted as a strong protest against the air strike in the maritime area. Relations between the two countries were reported to be strained after three Indian crew members went mysteriously missing following the explosion incident.
This heinous attack targeted a petroleum product tanker named MT Settebello, which was flying the flag of Palau. The vessel had issued a distress call after a missile struck the engine room with devastating precision. The tense incident occurred at a position 20 nautical miles northeast of Sohar, within the Gulf of Oman area.
‘We condemn the attack on the commercial vessel Settebello off the coast of Oman earlier today. Out of 24 Indian crew members on board, 21 Indian nationals have been rescued so far and three Indian nationals are reported missing,’ the Ministry of External Affairs stated in an official release.
The ministry also offered critical remarks regarding the security situation in the international trade route. They assessed that this series of terror attacks on the high seas is a domino effect of the unending total war in the Middle East region.
‘The continuing incidents of attacks on shipping in the region are extremely concerning and are a direct consequence of the ongoing conflict in the region,’ the ministry added in its written statement.
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Oman stated it is continuously monitoring the situation on the ground closely. Their diplomatic authorities are proactively coordinating with Omani authorities in the emergency search and rescue operation. According to data from the vessel tracking site Marine Traffic, the tanker was actually scheduled to head to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
This bloody incident marks the second attack targeting a commercial vessel with an Indian crew in three days. On Monday, the oil tanker MT Marivex was also brutally bombarded by United States military forces south of the Strait of Hormuz.
United States Central Command, or Centcom, eventually provided official confirmation regarding the reasons behind the unilateral attack via social media. The US military argued that the Palau-flagged tanker was deliberately targeted whilst transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman because it was detected moving towards Iranian territory.
‘The vessel was attempting to sail to an Iranian port,’ US Central Command wrote in a post on their official X account.
The shipping lanes in and around the Strait of Hormuz are now reported to have become an extremely lethal environment for international merchant vessels. This dire condition has continued to spread following a joint United States-Israeli strike on Iran earlier this year.
Tehran immediately responded by closing the strategic strait through which a fifth of the world’s energy supply normally passes, whilst the United States Navy imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.