After two Indian ships - Jag Arnav and Sanmar Herald were targeted with gunfire from Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), India on Sunday clarified that it has taken the matter seriously and Tehran will have to face consequences in response to such an attack. The tankers were forced to turn back from the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. It is reported that no one was injured, and the vessels also did not sustain much damage. Vessel tracking platform, TankerTrackers.com said one of the ships was a supertanker carrying around 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil.

The cracks between the powerful IRGC and Iranian government are now clearly visible over the control of Strait of Hormuz- a critical narrow passage crucial for the oil flow. On Saturday, IRGC announced that Hormuz will remain closed from April 18. The statement came after the Iranian government signalled to open Hormuz amid global pressure.

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IRGC Collecting Tolls From Ships?

Amid media reports that the IRGC is charging vessels for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, an Indian official, cited by Hindustan Times, dismissed any possibility of India complying with such demands. The official also warned that the recent firing incident involving Iran could lead to consequences.

Representative Of Iran’s Supreme Leader In India Downplays The Incident

Hours after India summoned the Iranian Ambassador over the firing on Indian vessels, Dr Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi, a representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader in India, underscored the resilience of India-Iran ties, noting that New Delhi has benefited from the longstanding relationship.

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Downplaying the incident, he said the Indian Prime Minister and the Iranian President have held multiple rounds of talks, and stressed that relations between the two ancient nations will continue to grow in a robust manner.

"Our relationship with India is very strong... India has benefited from the good relationship between Iran and India in getting their oil and tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Prime Minister of India had very successful conversations with the President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, and the EAM had several successful conversations with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran," he told the media.