The rebuttal by the Ministry of External Affairs came after former US Army officer Douglas Macgregor made the claim that the US is replying on India naval bases to strike Iran during an interview with One America News Network.
BY PC Bureau
March 4, 2026: India on Thursday dismissed as “fake and false” claims circulating in foreign media that the United States was using Indian ports or naval bases to carry out military strikes against Iran, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The rebuttal came after remarks by former US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor during an interview with the US-based channel One America News Network (OAN), in which he suggested that American forces had begun relying on Indian ports after suffering damage to their own naval infrastructure.
In the interview, Macgregor claimed that several US harbour installations had been destroyed in the ongoing conflict, forcing American naval operations to seek support elsewhere.
“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,” he said.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs quickly rejected the assertion. The ministry’s official FactCheck handle said the claim circulating on OAN was completely baseless.
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“The claims being made are fake and false,” the FactCheck account posted on X on Wednesday. “We caution you against such baseless and fabricated comments.”
The government has also reiterated its broader position on the rapidly escalating conflict in the Middle East, expressing “deep concern” and urging restraint from all sides. India has called on the parties involved to avoid further escalation and prioritise the safety of civilians.
Claim: On a US-based channel, One America News Network (@OANN), former U.S. Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor made a statement suggesting that the United States is using Indian naval bases to attack Iran, amidst the ongoing Iran-US conflict.#PIBFactCheck:
❌This claim is #FAKE… pic.twitter.com/nzcXCi7yT9
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 4, 2026
Escalating US-Israel-Iran Conflict
The tensions follow a dramatic escalation in the region after the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran last week, triggering a wider conflict across the Middle East.
The strikes reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, sending shockwaves across the region. In retaliation, Iran fired missiles at Israeli targets and at American military bases located in Gulf countries.
The conflict entered its sixth day on Thursday, with no immediate signs of de-escalation.
In one of the most serious incidents so far, an Iranian naval vessel, the IRIS Dena, was sunk by a torpedo launched from a US submarine in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday night. The ship had recently completed a friendly visit to India before the attack. Reports said 87 personnel on board were killed.
The incident was notable as it marked the first time since World War II that an American submarine had sunk a surface warship in combat.
Casualty figures in the conflict have continued to rise. According to reports, more than 1,000 people have been killed in Iran, while about a dozen have died in Israel. At least six American troops have also been reported killed.
Both Donald Trump, the US president, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have defended the strikes, saying they were launched to prevent an imminent threat posed by Iran.
“If we didn’t do it first, they would have done it to Israel and given us a shot, if that was possible,” Trump said, justifying the military action.
