Fake news, baseless: India junks report of US Navy using its ports to strike Iran

India has rejected claims that the US was using Indian ports to launch strikes against Iran, calling the report “fake and false”. New Delhi's reaction came after a former US Army Colonel claimed in an interview that the US Navy had begun relying on Indian ports in the ongoing war with Iran.

In an interview with a US-based channel, One America News Network, Douglas Macgregor said. “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.

However, the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the government's fact-check bureau, called the claim "fake."

“Claim: On a US-based channel, One America News Network (@OANN), former US 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. This claim is fake,” PIB tweeted.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)’s official fact-check account also swiftly dismissed the claim.

“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,” the MEA FactCheck handle posted on X.

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