NEW DELHI — India has officially summoned Iranian diplomats, including Deputy Chief of Mission Mohammad Javad Hosseini, to the Ministry of External Affairs following a deadly missile strike in the Strait of Hormuz. The diplomatic intervention was triggered after an Iranian cruise missile attack on two UAE commercial tankers resulted in the death of an Indian crew member and left several other sailors injured. Following the high-level briefing at the ministry headquarters in the national capital, the Iranian delegation was seen departing the premises as bilateral tensions escalated over the safety of Indian nationals operating in the volatile maritime corridor.
The UAE Ministry of Defence confirmed that the targeted vessels, the UAE-flagged Mombasa and Bahia, were struck by Iranian cruise missiles while navigating the southern passage of the Strait of Hormuz within Omani territorial waters. The lethal strike on the Mombasa claimed the life of the Indian national and injured eight other sailors. Among the casualties currently undergoing medical treatment, four individuals sustained severe injuries, with the affected group comprising six Indian nationals and two Ukrainian citizens. The missile strikes also ignited intense fires on both merchant vessels, causing extensive structural damage before emergency response teams successfully brought the blazes under control.
The UAE administration strongly condemned the maritime assault, labeling it a serious violation and a clear breach of international law. Officials in Abu Dhabi issued a stern warning that the state reserves its full right to respond to the military escalation and will implement all necessary measures to protect its territories, people, and residents. In response to the crisis, UAE armed forces have been placed on high alert, and the government has urged the public to rely exclusively on official state channels for security updates.
This latest maritime confrontation comes amid rapidly intensifying military friction in the strategic chokepoint. Prior to the strikes, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian forces had targeted several violating vessels in the waterway. Concurrently, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB confirmed that the navy had fired cruise missiles at what it termed a hostile vessel of the American enemy. The spike in regional hostilities follows a series of pre-emptive military strikes conducted by US Central Command inside Iran, designed to degrade Tehran’s capacity to target civilian commercial shipping. The operations coincide with a major policy shift by US President Donald Trump, who announced a strict naval blockade on Iranian shipping alongside a 20 per cent fee on eligible cargo transiting the strait to offset American regional security expenses.
