Overview
- India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the claim aired on One America News Network is “fake and false” and urged caution against fabricated comments.
- The Press Information Bureau’s fact-check unit also labeled the report as fake after it spread widely on social media platforms.
- The allegation originated from an OAN interview in which retired Colonel Douglas Macgregor, citing unnamed sources, asserted the US Navy was “falling back on India and Indian ports.”
- Reporting reviewed the scope of LEMOA and COMCASA, which enable reciprocal logistics under mutual consent and do not grant automatic permission to use Indian facilities for combat operations.
- Coverage noted the tense backdrop after the US confirmed a submarine torpedo sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka, with the vessel having recently participated in events in India.