India has officially accused the United States Navy of launching deadly strikes against commercial vessels in the Gulf of Oman, resulting in the deaths of three Indian seafarers this week. The incident has triggered sharp diplomatic backlash from New Delhi, drawing immediate comparisons to historical American military miscalculations in the region—most notably the 1988 downing of Iran Air Flight 655, which claimed the lives of 290 people, including 10 Indian nationals.
In response to the escalation, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has summoned US Charge d’Affaires Jason Meeks twice in forty-eight hours to lodge a vehement protest against the use of “lethal and deadly force” on civilian maritime traffic.
Chronology of the Week’s Maritime Strikes
According to the MEA, three merchant vessels operating with Indian crew members were targeted by US naval forces over the span of a few days:
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June 8 – Marivex (Palau-flagged): This oil tanker, carrying 24 Indian seafarers, was disabled by US forces. All crew members were successfully rescued without casualties.
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June 10 – Settebello (Palau-flagged): Struck by US forces, resulting in the tragic deaths of three out of the 24 Indian sailors on board.
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June 11 – Jalveer (Guinea-Bissau-flagged): Attacked on Thursday while carrying 20 Indian crew members.
MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that two of the targeted vessels were under sanctions administered by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which monitors illegal Iranian and Russian oil trade, while the third had been flagged as non-compliant. However, New Delhi has firmly stated that the presence of commercial or geopolitical infractions does not justify putting civilian lives at risk.
The Echoes of July 3, 1988: Iran Air Flight 655
The current standoff has reignited painful memories of one of the darkest chapters in modern military aviation history. Nearly forty years ago, a similar high-pressure environment in the Persian Gulf led to an American military catastrophe.
The Incident
During the tail-end of the bloody Iran-Iraq war, the US Navy acted as a self-appointed watchdog to protect global oil shipments. On July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes—an Aegis-class cruiser equipped with the world’s most advanced radar systems—engaged in a surface battle with Iranian gunboats near the Strait of Hormuz.
Amid the chaos, Iran Air Flight 655, a commercial Airbus A300 traveling on a routine flight from Bandar Abbas to Dubai, appeared on the cruiser’s radar. Mistaking the large civilian airliner for an attacking Iranian F-14 fighter jet, Captain Will Rogers ordered the launch of two surface-to-air missiles. The plane disintegrated, killing all 290 civilians on board, including 10 Indian citizens whose details and identities were never publicly clarified or accounted for by US authorities.
The Aftermath and Investigation
While initial Pentagon reports claimed the warship acted in proper defense against an aircraft descending in a “threatening profile,” a subsequent investigation by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) revealed severe institutional failures:
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Communication Gaps: US warships were entirely unequipped to monitor civilian air traffic control frequencies, meaning they could not hear the airliner communicating with local towers.
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Flawed Warnings: Out of 11 warnings transmitted by the US Navy, 7 were sent on military channels inaccessible to a commercial cockpit. The few civilian warnings lacked the clarity required for the pilots to realize their aircraft was being targeted.
Diplomatic Repercussions
“The use of lethal force against civilian shipping is unacceptable and undermines the safety and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region.” — Ministry of External Affairs, India
Decades after the Iran Air tragedy, the deaths of three Indian mariners off the coast of Oman demonstrate that civilian operators continue to bear the brunt of geopolitical crossfire in the Gulf. As New Delhi demands stringent accountability and an explanation for the deployment of deadly force against merchant sailors, the shadow of the 1988 tragedy serves as a grim reminder of the high stakes and razor-thin margins of error defining American naval operations in the region.
