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The ship’s crew also ignored eight shows of force by military
aircraft that included fired flares and flyovers, as well as two
final warnings before being fired upon Wednesday, according to
the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the
sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Earlier in the week, the U.S. military said an American aircraft
fired “precision munitions” into the engine room of the
Palau-flagged vessel M/T Settebello. The incident in the Gulf of
Oman killed three Indian sailors, Indian officials said.
The U.S. official described the vessel as a shadow fleet ship
that has been used to illegally transfer Iranian oil and evade
sanctions and was seen trying to break the blockade multiple
times. The official noted that U.S. forces communicated with the
ship dozens of times over two weeks before the day when the ship
was disabled.
In a statement, U.S. Central Command said the military gave the
crew 15 minutes to get out of the engine room before the shots
were fired that disabled the ship.
“After being in place for more than 60 days, it should be clear
by now that U.S. forces will strictly enforce the blockade,” the
statement added.
India’s foreign ministry said New Delhi has lodged a “strong
protest” with the United States.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told his Indian counterpart on
Friday “that all commercial vessels should immediately comply
with orders from U.S. forces as they seek to uphold peace and
security in the Strait,” according to a summary of the call
released by the State Department on Saturday.
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