India Warns Iran of Consequences over Attacks on Cargo Ships
Tensions rise in the Strait of Hormuz. Image courtesy: RNA
India has reportedly conveyed to Iran that attacks on its cargo vessels in the Strait of Hormuz would have serious consequences, even as it conveyed its displeasure to Tehran over the attacks on two of its vessels last Saturday (April 18, 2026).
The warning, according to Indian officials, was communicated to Iran through their Ambassador in New Delhi on the same day after two India-bound cargo ships came under Iranian military attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
The two vessels, Jag Arnav and Sanmar Herald, were fired upon north of Oman when transiting the Strait of Hormuz after having been explicitly allowed to do so. The attacks forced the two vessels to turn back and abandon transit towards India.
India immediately summoned the Iranian Ambassador in New Delhi and expressed “strong displeasure” over the attacks, according to a Ministry of External Affairs statement on Saturday (April 18).
Indian government officials, on Sunday (April 19), said one of the vessels suffered minor damage, but there were no casualties among the crew members in the Iranian attacks.
India, the officials said, conveyed to Iran that such attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would be viewed with utmost seriousness.
The “consequences” warning came from India even as the Iranian warship IRIS Lavan remains docked at Kochi port in Kerala, after seeking refuge in early March 2026.
Around 120 of the 183 crew members of the IRIS Lavan had been repatriated to Iran already, while only essential crew members remain in Kochi to maintain the Iranian naval vessel.
Another Iranian warship, IRIS Dena, was torpedoed by a US submarine on March 4, 2026, in the international waters near Sri Lanka, killing nearly half of the crew members.
Officials said the IRGC, on Saturday (April 18), targeted the Indian cargo vessel as a result of the Iranian elite military group wanting to impose a toll on all ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. India has clearly refused to pay any such toll and has dismissed all such demands, while the Iranian government had repeatedly noted that they had demanded no toll from India for letting the India-bound cargo pass through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.
