Fact Check: Is India working with UAE to evacuate citizens via Fujairah port amid Iran war? Govt clarifies

The Indian government has moved to quash circulating claims that it is working with the United Arab Emirates to evacuate Indian nationals through Fujairah port amid the ongoing Iran war, calling the reports entirely without basis.

"There is no basis in fact for such a story. There is no evacuation being planned. Please stay alert against such false and baseless claims," the Ministry of External Affairs posted on X on Monday.

The clarification comes as the broader Iran war enters a dangerous new phase, with peace negotiations between Washington and Tehran failing to produce an agreement and oil markets reacting sharply to the prospect of renewed conflict.

"I have just read the response from Iran's so-called 'Representatives.' I don't like it -- TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!" Trump said.

Iran had on Sunday responded to the latest US proposal and warned it would not hold back from retaliating against any new US strikes, nor permit additional foreign warships into the Strait of Hormuz. Trump did not disclose the specific contents of Tehran's counter-proposal but made clear he would not accept them.

The breakdown in talks rattled global energy markets almost immediately. International benchmark Brent crude surged 4.65 per cent to 99.95 dollars a barrel during Monday morning trade in Asia. The benchmark US oil contract West Texas Intermediate also climbed by just over 4 per cent to 105.5 dollars a barrel, as investors braced for further disruption to oil supplies through the strait, where Tehran has imposed a partial blockade.

"It's not over, because there's still nuclear material -- enriched uranium -- that has to be taken out of Iran. There's still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled," Netanyahu told CBS's 60 Minutes.

The statement signals that even if Washington and Tehran were to reach a diplomatic agreement, Israel's involvement introduces an additional layer of conditions that would need to be met before a stable ceasefire could take hold.

The countries are expected to offer demining, escorting and air policing capabilities as part of a defensive operation led by the United Kingdom and France.

"We are turning diplomatic agreement into practical military plans to restore confidence for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz," said UK Defence Secretary John Healey, who is co-chairing Monday's gathering alongside his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin.

Iran responded swiftly and with force. The country's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, warned that any such deployment would be treated as an act of escalation and met with a direct military response.

"Any deployment and stationing of extra-regional destroyers around the Strait of Hormuz, under the pretext of 'protecting shipping' is nothing but an escalation of the crisis, the militarization of a vital waterway, and an attempt to cover up the true root of insecurity in the region," Gharibabadi said on X.

Iran's response would be "decisive and immediate," he added.

The very large crude carrier Basrah Energy loaded two million barrels of Upper Zakum crude from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's Zirku terminal on 1 May and exited the strait on 6 May with its transponder disabled. It subsequently offloaded its cargo at the Fujairah Oil Tanker Terminals on 8 May.

A second very large crude carrier, the Kiara M, exited the Gulf on Sunday also with its transponder switched off, carrying two million barrels of Iraqi crude. The destination of that cargo had not been confirmed at the time of publication.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and its buyers have in recent weeks moved several tankers through the strait in an effort to shift oil stranded in the Gulf by the ongoing conflict. The practice of disabling transponders, while carrying significant navigational risk, has emerged as an increasingly common workaround for operators seeking to sustain export flows under conditions of active threat.