India Summons Iranian Envoy For Attacks On Ships As ‘Mosquito Fleet’ Threatens Cargo Traffic

Two Indian vessels carrying crude from Iraq came under an Iranian Navy attack on Saturday (April 18, 2026), triggering a diplomatic backlash as New Delhi issued a strict warning to Tehran.

The Iranian Navy attacks on the two Indian vessels, Jag Arnav and Sanmar Herald, occurred north of Oman, as Indian cargo ships were forced to turn back from the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran had previously said that countries not involved in the conflict with the US and Israel would not be targeted.

The fresh attacks on Indian vessels invited a strong protest from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, which summoned the Iranian envoy in New Delhi to convey displeasure.

“The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in New Delhi was called in by the Ministry of External Affairs for a meeting with the Foreign Secretary this evening,” the MEA said in a statement on Saturday (April 18).

“During the meeting, the Foreign Secretary conveyed India’s deep concern at the shooting incident earlier today involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” it said.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri noted “the importance that India attached to the safety of merchant shipping and mariners” and recalled that Iran had earlier facilitated the safe passage of several ships bound for India.

Reiterating his concern at this serious incident of firing on merchant ships, Misri urged the Ambassador to convey India’s views to the authorities in Iran and resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the Strait.

“The Ambassador of Iran undertook to convey these views to the Iranian authorities,” the MEA statement said.

The Indian Navy has been tasked to ascertain facts regarding the shooting incident involving Indian cargo vessels, though it didn’t have a presence there at present. The Indian Navy currently has two destroyers, one frigate, and one tanker in the Gulf of Oman.

Meanwhile, the 10th Indian cargo vessel, Desh Garima, carrying crude oil, had crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday (April 18), on its way to Mumbai port.

Iran has previously allowed Indian vessels safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz till the Saturday firing at two Indian ships, the first such incident in the present West Asian war.

At present, 13 Indian vessels are docked in the Persian Gulf (west of Hormuz), six in the Gulf of Oman (east of Hormuz), three in the Red Sea, and one in the Gulf of Aden.

Some cargo vessels had decided to transit through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday (April 18) after Iran had announced a controlled safe passage.

However, the shooting at the vessels, including the two Indian ones, has brought attention to an Iranian flotilla of small, fast, and agile boats, now called the “mosquito fleet.”

The ‘Mosquito Fleet’ lurks in the shadows, designed to harass commercial shipping. This flotilla forms the core of the naval forces, separate from the regular navy, deployed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

The ‘Mosquito Fleet’, carrying missiles and drones, is said to be the gravest threat to maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, and is used to target vessels that the IRGC marks as an adversary.