India rejects claims of US Navy using its ports for Iran strikes: 'Baseless'

A US Marines F-35C Lightning II is staged for flight operations on the flight deck of the US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran. (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

India has strongly rejected claims that the United States is using its ports to launch attacks on Iran.

Dismissing these assertions as inaccurate, India reaffirmed that its ports are not being used for any US military operations against Iran.

"Claims being made on OAN, a US-based channel that Indian ports are being used by the US Navy are fake. We caution you against such baseless and fabricated comments," MEAFactCheck posted on X.

Fake News Alert!

Claims being made on OAN, a US based channel that Indian ports are being used by the US Navy are fake and false. We caution you against such baseless and fabricated comments. pic.twitter.com/xiFWnkoXBk — MEA FactCheck (@MEAFactCheck) March 4, 2026

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued the rebuttal following remarks made by former US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor in an interview with the US-based channel One America News Network.

"All of our bases have been destroyed. Our harbour installations are destroyed. We are actually having to fall back on India and Indian ports, which is less than ideal; that is what the navy says," Macgregor said in the interview.

On Tuesday, the MEA said that ensuring the safety of Indian nationals in the Gulf region remains a top priority for the government. "Their safety and well-being is of utmost priority," the MEA said earlier, adding that New Delhi cannot remain unaffected by developments that may endanger them.

Israel-Iran War

On February 28, the US and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes across multiple Iranian cities, targeting military command centres, air defence systems, missile sites and other strategic infrastructure. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the precision strike, following which tensions have sharply escalated across the Gulf.

Iran has since launched a series of missile and drone attacks in retaliation against US military facilities and allied bases throughout the region, and its forces have struck targets in countries including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The US-Iran war has widened sharply, with an American submarine sinking an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka on Wednesday, killing at least 80 people, and NATO air defences destroying an Iranian ballistic missile fired towards Turkey.

The conflict has also disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, severely affecting critical oil and gas supplies from the Middle East.