US President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that Iran had carried out a “drone attack” on Indian ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz, triggering consternation in New Delhi and Tehran.
Trump’s contention came in a post on his Truth Social platform against the backdrop of last-mile negotiations between the US and Iran on a peace deal that is expected to build on the ceasefire finalised in April.
After a diatribe over Iran allegedly leaking the terms of the deal to “Fake News”, Trump said in his post: “Also, their totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against Indian Ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”
His claim came on a day that the external affairs ministry summoned the most senior US diplomat in New Delhi, charge d’affaires Jason Meeks, for the second time this week to protest attacks by US forces on three merchant vessels with Indian crew members in the Gulf of Oman that left three Indian seafarers dead. Two of these vessels were Palau-flagged and one was Guinea-Bissau-flagged.
People familiar with the matter on both the Indian and Iranian sides said there were no reports of a drone attack on Indian-flagged vessels in or near the Strait of Hormuz either on Thursday night or thereafter. At least 13 Indian-flagged vessels are currently waiting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed by Iran.
{{/usCountry}}People familiar with the matter on both the Indian and Iranian sides said there were no reports of a drone attack on Indian-flagged vessels in or near the Strait of Hormuz either on Thursday night or thereafter. At least 13 Indian-flagged vessels are currently waiting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed by Iran.
{{/usCountry}}There was no official word from the Indian or Iranian side on the development.
Trump’s social media post accused the Iranian side of leaking the terms of the proposed peace deal to “Fake News” and said this information had “NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing”.
“What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth. Very dishonorable people to deal with. With them, there is no such thing as dealing in good faith,” Trump said. “They better get their act together, and FAST!”
Following Trump’s critical social media post, Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on social media that a memorandum of understanding with the US has “never been closer”, and urged the media not to speculate about its contents.
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Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said on social media that a “final, agreed upon text of the peace deal has been reached” between the Iran and the US.“Pakistan is now working closely with both sides to finalise the next steps,” Sharif said.