India has rejected former US Army Colonel Douglas MacGregor's claim that the country was using Indian naval bases to attack Iran, amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The FactCheck account of the Ministry of External Affairs on X stated that these claims are "fake and false."
"We caution you against such baseless and fabricated comments," it added.
PIB Fact Check also rejected MacGregor's statement, suggesting that the US was using Indian naval bases to target Iran. "This claim is #FAKE," it wrote.
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While speaking on the One America News Network, MacGregor said that all of the US 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," he said.
India has expressed "deep concern" over the ongoing situation in the region and urged all sides to "exercise restraint, avoid escalation, and prioritise the safety of civilians".
A control room has been set up in the MEA in view of the current situation. It can be contacted from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at:
1800118797 (Toll Free)
+91 11 2301 2113
+91 11 2301 4104
+91 11 2301 7905
The US and Israel carried out strikes on Iran on Saturday, Feb. 28, and the attack escalated, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In retaliation, Iran has launched missiles at Israel as well as American military bases in various Gulf countries.
As of Thursday, Mar. 5, the war has entered its sixth day, without any signs of easing tensions.
US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) informed that more than 1,000 civilians were killed during the first five days of US-Israeli bombings of Iran, including 181 children under the age of 10.
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The rights group aggregated reports of 1,097 civilian deaths as well as over 5,000 injuries in the region.
The Israel Defense Forces informed that Iran launched a fresh barrage of missiles towards the country overnight.
“In the past few minutes, the Home Front Command has sent a precautionary directive directly to mobile phones in the relevant areas,” IDF said just before 4 a.m. local time on Thursday.
Post that, sirens were sounded in Jerusalem and other regions of central Israel. As per CNN, this marked the third wave of missiles fired at Israel from Iran since midnight.
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