New Delhi, March 13 Amid the conflict in West Asia and rising oil prices, US envoy to India, Sergio Gor, said on Friday that Iran is "trying to blockade" the Strait of Hormuz and is "recklessly targeting" commercial vessels, as he accused Tehran of trying to drive up oil prices.
During an interactive session held after his address at the India Today Conclave 2026, Gor also sought to explain why Washington recently issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to buy Russian oil, having previously imposed heavy sanctions related to the war in Ukraine.
He was asked the reason behind this "change of stance" by the US government when it comes to buying Russian oil.
Gor said that President Trump "has been involved and trying to end conflicts around the world, and I know Prime Minister Narendra Modi agrees with him in trying to bring this war between Russia and Ukraine to an end".
"This has been going on for four years, and millions of individuals have now lost their lives in this war. So, the President was looking to do everything in his power to stop that war. Part of that was ensuring that around the world, people are not purchasing Russian oil at that time, because it was directly enabling the war to continue," the US envoy said.
He argued that the situation is different today.
"Today, we are in a situation where unfortunately Iran is trying to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, Iranians are recklessly targeting commercial vessels... including Indians who have unfortunately lost their lives through Iranian missiles and drones in the last few days, as recently as yesterday," he said.
"So, we are frankly in a different environment, India understands this. India is a vital partner to us to ensure that these prices remain stable around the world, so frankly we appreciate India working with the US and the global community in ensuring that the price of oil remains stable around the world," Gor said.
The US had on March 5 granted the waiver from sanctions to India to buy Russian oil as part of efforts to cool down oil prices that have been on the rise since the outbreak of the war in West Asia two weeks ago.
The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic narrow sea lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
The West Asia conflict began after the US and Israel launched a major military attack on Iran on February 28, killing 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran, in retaliation, attacked several Gulf nations hosting American military bases, impacting global aviation operations, oil prices and triggering a looming energy crisis.
On the rise in oil prices, Gor said, "We are not the ones that are leading the blockade to drive the prices up... that is happening from the other side."
He also said "commercial ships should not be targeted".
"We are not at war with commercial companies, we are not trying to drive the prices up, the other side is," the envoy said.
Asked when the war is expected to end, he said, President Trump "has been very clear, we cannot have a nuclear Iran".
"On day one, after the US got involved, the first thing Iran did was to strike countries in Gulf," Gor said and described the retaliation as a "reckless and very dangerous and deadly behaviour".
"What if they have a nuclear bomb?... President (Trump) trying to bring stability there and the region, and the whole world," he argued as the war entered into its fourteenth day, with no end in sight for the raging conflict.