Jorge Ramos

Israeli forces have intercepted around a dozen Gaza-bound aid boats from the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters near the Greek island of Crete, more than 1,000km from Israel. Organisers call it an illegal attack on civilians in international waters.

The Iranian ship will not be where it was if we had not invited it to talk part in our Milan exercise. We were the hosts. I am told that as per protocol for this exercise ships cannot carry any ammunition. It was defenceless. The Iranian naval personnel had paraded before our president . The attack by the US submarine was premeditated as the US was aware of the Iranian ship’s presence in the exercise to which the US navy was invited but withdrew from participation at the last minute, presumably with this operation in mind. The US has ignored India’s sensitivities as the ship was in these waters because of India’s invitation. We are far from politically or militarily responsible for the US attack. Our“responsibility” is at a moral and human plane. A word of condolence by the Indian Navy ( after political clearance) at the loss of lives of those who were our invitees and saluted our president would be in order.