Latest on U.S. and Iran hostilities
episodePreviously titled “The latest on Iran-U.S hostilities as three Indian sailors have been killed in a U.S. strike on tanker” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 4, 2026
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance.
Now we move to this news breaking this morning. The three Indian sailors have been killed after the US military struck a tanker in the Gulf of Oman. These men had been reported missing after their ship came under attack yesterday. The US military accused the boat of not complying with directions from American forces. Let's get more on this now with Middle East-based journalist Sally Lockwood. Sally, thank you for joining us on the programme this morning. So talk us through what has happened here, because I said these sailors were reported missing, but their deaths now have been confirmed.
Yeah, that's right. And as we understand it, Claire, it's the third such incident involving Indian vessels this week in the Strait of Hormuz. Excuse me, US Central Command confirmed yesterday that US forces had shot out an engine room and disabled an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after...
What happened to the Indian sailors in the Gulf of Oman?
Reportedly, the vessel violated their naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The crew didn't respond despite warnings. Now, this was a Palau-flagged vessel with an Indian crew on board. So it was disabled by the US. They shot at it. And 21 seafarers were reported yesterday to have been rescued, but three were missing. And today, the Indian shipping minister has confirmed that they've all been recovered and that they are in fact dead. So, you know, really terrible news. And certainly it feels like it's putting a strain on lots of diplomatic relations when it comes to the situation now with this war. And we are hearing... From the Indian embassy in Oman today in Muscat, there's a fresh incident involving another vessel in waters off the coast of Oman today that another vessel is on fire.
We're still waiting more details on that.
OK, it's interesting, though, to see the Indian government's response to these three deaths, referring to it as a tragic incident and saying that it is deeply unfortunate, Sally. I mean, a lot rides on their response here to the Americans.
Yeah, absolutely.
What details surround the US military's involvement in the tanker strike?
I think a lot is being said publicly to keep face at the moment. And I think diplomatic channels behind the scenes are probably having much more robust conversations. But certainly, this is not welcome news at all. And it's something that the shipping industry has... You know, this is their worst case scenario that this military blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, they feared for months now that it would result in civilian deaths. And here we are. And certainly, I think the diplomatic language between the US and India remains strong. largely neutral but I'm sure behind closed doors there's some very serious conversations being had.
I just I suppose it's an indication of just how difficult it is to police this ban on on ships using the Strait of Hormuz how difficult it is and how on how much of a knife edge the entire situation is because all it takes is for another of these incidents to happen and the response not to be as diplomatic as it has been this morning from the Indian government.
Yeah, absolutely. And let's not forget, you know, there could have been communication failure. We're talking about language barriers here as well. There are seafarers from all parts of the world, you know, hovering the Strait of Hormuz trying to get through at the moment. Many have been stranded there for months. And I think there has been an increase in traffic. I mean, we know that. The US has confirmed that they've been helping commercial vessels navigate the Strait of Hormuz safely and get out. Donald Trump himself said that they've managed to help you know, many oil tankers get out in the last month or so that they've been doing covertly at night. And that's why they've been targeting these radar sites around the Strait of Hormuz to help these vessels evade detection by the Iranians.
Donald Trump said that 100 million barrels of oil had got out this way thanks to the Americans. We can't verify those figures, but I should say that in normal times, it would take around five days for that amount of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
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