“You gave me clearance to go. Now you are firing.”
That’s the voice of an Indian sailor aboard MT Sanmar Herald — a crude oil tanker carrying two million barrels of Iraqi oil toward India — radioing the same Iranian forces that had just cleared him to transit the Strait of Hormuz. On April 18, those forces opened fire anyway.
What Happened in the Strait
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard gunboats attacked two Indian-flagged tankers — Sanmar Herald and Jag Arnav — as they crossed the strait. A third vessel, MT Bhagya Lakshmi, was ordered to turn around immediately. No casualties were reported, but the ships never reached India.
This happened one day after Iran announced the strait was fully open. By the morning of April 18, Tehran reversed course — reimposing restrictions after Trump refused to lift the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. Indian tankers, cleared under the old rules, sailed into the new ones.
The timing is the cruelest part. India had spent weeks securing special transit permissions from Tehran. Iran’s own ambassador called India a nation in “good contact.” Then the IRGC pulled the trigger.
India’s Response — and What It Can’t Fix
India’s Ministry of External Affairs summoned the Iranian envoy and expressed “deep concern.” Delhi warned Iran of consequences. Iran’s reply: the relationship is “very strong.”
Strong enough to shoot at, apparently.
India imports roughly 40% of its crude oil through Hormuz. Oil has already surged past $126 a barrel during this crisis. Modi called a security meeting on energy reserves. The strategic petroleum reserve covers 74 days — but that clock started ticking weeks ago.
Diplomacy gave India a lane through the world’s most dangerous chokepoint. The distress audio is what that lane actually sounds like.