UAE Says Iranian Missiles Hit Two Tankers, Killing Indian Seafarer

Iranian cruise missiles struck two UAE tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on July 14, killing one Indian crew member and injuring several others, the UAE Ministry of Defence said.

The ministry said the tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah were hit while transiting the strait’s southern shipping lane, inside Omani territorial waters. Fires broke out on both vessels, the ministry said, and are now under control.

The UAE and India gave conflicting casualty accounts. The UAE ministry said the crew member died aboard the Mombasa and that eight people were hurt — six Indians and two Ukrainians, four of them seriously. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the man who died was one of 12 Indians aboard the Al Bahiyah, and that nine of the 18 Indians on the Mombasa were injured, two seriously. Another Indian aboard the Al Bahiyah was also hurt, it said. Neither statement resolved the discrepancy.

The two vessels carried 30 Indian seafarers among a combined crew of 46, the Indian ministry said. India summoned the deputy chief of mission of Iran’s embassy in New Delhi that morning and lodged a strong protest.

The UAE “reserves its full right to respond to this escalation” and will take whatever steps are needed to protect its territory, citizens and residents. — UAE Ministry of Defence

The UAE ministry condemned the strike as a clear breach of international law and a threat to regional stability. The ministry said it remains at the highest level of readiness and urged the public to rely on official sources rather than rumors.

India condemned the attacks on seafarers and commercial shipping, called for an immediate end to the violence and urged a return to dialogue and diplomacy. Its mission in the UAE is in contact with Emirati authorities to assist the affected Indian crew members, the ministry said.

In a statement on X, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned attacks against Saudi Arabia the previous night, calling them a violation of the kingdom’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. His statement did not say who carried out those attacks.