Over 650 Indian fishermen stranded near Iran’s Kish Island amid conflict
Kanyakumari MP urges MEA for immediate escalation
Chennai: Kanyakumari MP Vijay Vasanth has appealed to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to urgently evacuate over 650 Indian fishermen stranded near Kish Island in Iran. The fishermen, most of whom hail from coastal villages in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district, are reportedly facing acute shortages of food and essential supplies due to the ongoing regional conflict between Israel and Iran.
In a letter dated 3 July addressed to M. Anand Prakash, Joint Secretary of the MEA's PAI Division, the MP highlighted the worsening conditions faced by the stranded fishermen. He noted that despite the Indian Embassy officials visiting the group and assessing their situation, their distress continues to mount. Vasanth stated that contact details and the fishermen’s location have already been shared with the authorities, and Antony Shaju has been designated as the liaison point for coordination.
The MP described the situation as a humanitarian crisis and called for immediate delivery of food supplies and safe repatriation. Families of the fishermen in India are reportedly anxious, with no clear update yet from the government regarding an evacuation plan.
According to reports, more than 1,000 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, mainly from Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, and Thoothukudi, were working in Iran on contractual jobs near the Kish Island port. Operations were suspended after hostilities escalated between Israel and Iran. Although tensions have slightly eased, the conditions remain unsafe, and over 650 fishermen are still stranded aboard their motorboats without access to land or supplies.
MEA sources have confirmed that the issue is under urgent consideration, though an official statement is yet to be released.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
