Two UAE nationals, who were engaged with them in fishing, however, escaped unhurt. Their 30 feet long civilian vessel was powered by three outboard motors.

A brief statement issued by the US embassy in Delhi claimed that the firing took place after the Indian fishing vessel “disregarded non-lethal warnings and rapidly approached the US ship.”

In a quick damage control, US ambassador Nancy Powell called Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and conveyed her ‘regret for the loss of life’, and assured that Washington would conduct full investigation amidst doubts whether US navy ship was responding to a threat or whether the firing was a sign of sharp tensions in the Persian Gulf as the US continues its military build-up in preparation for a possible attack on Iran.

One of the injured said the American ship started shooting without any warning. “We were shocked to come under attack like this. There was no time to react. We didn’t know what hit us”, he told TV channel, Times Now. Said another: “We know warning signs and sounds and there were none; it was very sudden. My friend was killed, he’s gone. I don’t understand what happened.”

Dubai’s police chief Dahi Khafan Tamim appeared to share their view. He was quoted in media despatches as saying that primary investigation confirmed that the [fishing] boat was ‘in its right course’ and ‘did not pose any danger’. He went on to add that the shooting was ‘clearly a mistake’.

Pentagon has ordered an inquiry and has promised to share ‘with India transparently the results of its probe’. Pentagon Press Secretary George Little has however insisted that the naval ship had issued several warnings to the fishing boat before it fired shots.

State Department spokesperson Patrick Ventrell, has described the firing on Indian fishermen as regrettable. “… And we, of course, will work with our Indian counterparts and be as transparent as possible to provide them the results of our investigation once it’s finished…,” he said in response to a question at his daily briefing.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has termed the killing as "unfortunate" and said his ministry was in touch with Ambassador in UAE, M K Lokesh, who has raised the issue with the UAE government. “We have to wait for the details to emerge," the ambassador said pointing out that there were many versions of the incident.

Indian embassy officials visited the injured undergoing treatment in a Dubai hospital. They may be shifted to Tamil Nadu for further treatment as that is the demand of their kin.  

An estimated four million Indians are employed in the Gulf States. Most of them hail from Tamilnadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.  Not all of them are engaged in high end jobs.

The incident is reminiscent of the lethal methods used by the US military on land in Iraq. Any vehicle or person deemed a “terrorist threat” to US personnel was fired on and killed. None of the US investigations into hundreds of such incidents, involving men, women and children, resulted in charges or disciplinary action.

The US response to Monday’s naval firing is similar: perfunctory condolences to the families of the dead and injured, but no admission of guilt. A US military investigation has been announced but will undoubtedly clear the personnel involved. A naval spokesman defended the crew’s actions, declaring: “Our ships have an inherent right to self-defence against lethal threats.”

The July 16 shooting indicates that US navy is in a hyper sensitive state as Washington ratchets up its confrontation against Iran. The Obama administration has repeatedly declared that it would use all means, including military force, to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Tehran has denied any intention of constructing a nuclear bomb and rejected the US charge as unsubstantiated.

Published reports show that Pentagon has increased the number of aircraft carrier battle groups from one to two, doubled the number of minesweepers and moved a squadron of advanced F-22 fighters into the region. It is also sending the USS John C. Stennis to the Gulf four months ahead of schedule to ensure the presence of two aircraft carriers at all times.

The US is also said to be setting up a sophisticated missile defence radar station in Qatar which along with similar radars in Israel and Turkey, will be able to track ballistic missile launches deep inside Iran. Wall Street Journal says that the US military is seeking to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence missile interceptor system in the Persian Gulf, possibly in the UAE.

The Pentagon has plans to stage a major minesweeping exercise involving 20 countries for mid-September in the Gulf. It will be the largest ever of its kind. The exercise is geared at addressing ‘a hypothetical threat to mine the international waterways of the Middle East’.  

Yet, the United States asserts that all these plans are ‘purely defensive’ and are ‘not aimed at Iran’.