A claim raced across social media over the past few hours: that four Indian sailors had been killed when the United States struck an oil tanker near Oman. The story was shared widely, but India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has flatly rejected it as completely false.
What the viral claim actually said
The post came from an X account called 'India Sentinels', which alleged that the US had targeted a tanker named 'MT Liaki Freedom' near Oman — describing it as the fourth such strike within a single week. According to the post, four Indian sailors lost their lives in this supposed action. To lend it weight, the post tagged both the Ministry of External Affairs (@MEAIndia) and US Central Command (@CENTCOM).
What the Foreign Ministry clarified
The MEA's fact-check unit labelled the circulating post plainly as "FAKE". According to official information, the ministry made clear that the report of an attack on 'Liaki Freedom' and the deaths of four Indian sailors is entirely baseless and untrue.
In its statement, the ministry said it had spoken directly to the captain of the 'Liaki Freedom', who confirmed that every crew member aboard is safe and that the information being spread is wholly incorrect. The MEA urged the public to stay alert to such unfounded and false claims on social media and not to trust any report until it has been officially confirmed.
The real incident behind the rumour
The false claim appears to draw on a genuine recent event. Some time ago, the US targeted a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, and three Indian sailors were killed in that strike. The vessel was a commercial tanker named 'MT Settebello', aboard which three Indian sailors tragically died as a result of the US military attack in the Gulf of Oman.
India's strong response
Over that incident, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and lodged a firm protest, calling such attacks on commercial ships unjustified. India also summoned the charge d'affaires of the US embassy in New Delhi to register its objection.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump had accused Iran of carrying out drone attacks on Indian ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, describing it as "totally unacceptable". Iran, however, dismissed the accusation as false and in turn blamed the US for the attack.
