Comments are misinformed and unacceptable, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments on Indian Muslims are “misinformed and unacceptable, India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said on Tuesday. “We strongly deplore the comments made regarding minorities in India by the Supreme Leader of Iran,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The comments are misinformed and unacceptable. Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others,” the ministry said.
Posting on X on the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Iranian leader had clubbed Indian Muslims with those in Gaza, talking about their sufferings.
In his post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei had said: “We cannot consider ourselves to be Muslims if we are oblivious to the suffering that a Muslim is enduring in #Myanmar, #Gaza, #India, or any other place.”
“The enemies of Islam have always tried to make us indifferent with regard to our shared identity as an Islamic Ummah,” he added.
The comments came amid an escalation of hostilities between Iran and Israel – a situation that had led to discomfiture in New Delhi.
Tehran is the biggest supplier of crude in West Asia. New Delhi and Tehran also share concerns of terror from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
India and Iran tend to share a good relationship, illustrated by strong economic ties. In May, they signed a 10-year contract to develop and operate the Iranian port of Chabahar, on Iran’s southeastern coast.
India is developing the port as a gateway to exports to Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia, allowing it to bypass the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in Pakistan.
But Khamenei has been critical in the past over issues involving Muslims in India and the troubled Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.
Human rights groups have alleged that the mistreatment of Muslims has increased under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took over as prime minister in 2014.
Since then, the country has seen a rising number of attacks against Muslims and their livelihoods. Reports of hate speech have also grown.
Cases of mob lynching under the pretext of protecting cows, considered holy by some Hindus, have increased during Modi’s time in power, and homes and properties have been demolished. – Wirth inputs from Agencies
