Congress Parliamentary Party President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said the Union government’s silence on the targeted “assassination” of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was not a neutral stance but an abdication, and that it casts serious doubt on the direction and credibility of India’s foreign policy.
The former Congress President he also demanded that when parliament reconvenes for the second part of the budget session later this month, the government’s “disturbing silence” on the breakdown of the international order be discussed openly and without evasion.
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In her article published in The Indian Express, Gandhi said that there is an urgent need for us to “rediscover” moral strength and articulate it with clarity and commitment.
“On March 1, Iran confirmed that its supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, was assassinated in targeted attacks carried out the previous day by the United States and Israel. The killing of the sitting head of state in the midst of ongoing negotiations marks a serious rift in current international relations,” Gandhi said.
Yet beyond the shock of the event, New Delhi’s silence stands out just as starkly, she said.
The Indian government refrained from condemning the assassination or the violation of Iran’s sovereignty, it noted.
“Initially, ignoring the massive US-Israeli onslaught, Prime minister (Narendra Modi) limited himself to condemning Iran’s retaliatory strike on the UAE without addressing the sequence of events that preceded it. He later uttered phrases of his ‘deep concern’ and spoke of ‘dialogue and diplomacy’ – which is exactly what was going on before the massive unprovoked attacks launched by Israel and the US,” Gandhi said.
The government’s response to the US-Iran war?
Prime Minister Modi spoke alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in New Delhi on Monday expressed concern on escalating conflicts across the world and said that India has always supported peace and stability and believes that disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
on Sunday Prime Minister Modi spoke with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and strongly criticized the Iranian attacks. On Monday, PM Modi said he had spoken to Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Saudi Arabia. Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman and condemned Iran’s attacks on both of these countries
However, neither Prime Minister Modi nor any of his cabinet colleagues issued any statement Khamenei’s death until this report is filed.
“When the targeted killing of a foreign leader does not result in a clear defense of sovereignty or international law from our country and impartiality is abandoned, it raises serious doubts about the direction and credibility of our foreign policy,” Gandhi said in her article.
Silence in this case is not neutral, she argued.
Gandhi pointed out that the assassination was carried out without a formal declaration of war and during an ongoing diplomatic process.
“Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. The targeted killing of a serving head of state is fundamental to these principles,” she said.
Modi was in Israel last month
If such actions pass without principled objections from the world’s largest democracy, the erosion of international norms will be easier to normalize, she argued.
“The uneasiness is compounded by the timing. Barely 48 hours before the assassination, the Prime Minister returned from a visit to Israel where he reiterated unequivocal support for the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, even as the conflict in Gaza continues to spark global outrage over the scale of civilian casualties, many of them women and children,” Gandhi said.
PM Modi was on a state visit to Israel on 25-26 February At a time when much of the global South, along with major powers and India’s BRICS partners such as Russia and China, is keeping a distance, India’s high-profile political support without moral clarity marks a visible and troubling departure, the former Congress president said.
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“The consequences of this event go beyond geopolitics. The ripples of this tragedy are visible across continents. And India’s stance signals tacit support for this tragedy,” she said.
Gandhi pointed out that the Congress had unequivocally condemned the bombings and targeted assassinations on Iranian soil, calling them a dangerous escalation with serious regional and global consequences.
Example of Vajpayee
The present government would do well to remember that in April 2001, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee warmly reaffirmed India’s deep ties with Iran, both civilizational and contemporary, during an official visit to Tehran, Gandhi said.
“His (Vajpayee’s) recognition of these longstanding relationships seems to have no meaning for our present government,” she said.
Period 1998–2004 led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Atal Bihari Vajpayee as prime minister is often called the “golden age” of India-Iran relations.
Vajpayee visited Iran and signed the Tehran Declaration in 2001. Iranian President Mohammad Khatami was the chief guest. Republic Day 2003and the New Delhi Declaration was signed, paving the way for Chabahar Port and energy cooperation under Prime Minister Vajpayee.
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Gandhi noted that India’s ties with Israel have expanded over defense, agriculture and technology in recent years. She said that precisely because India maintains relations with both Tehran and Tel Aviv, it has the diplomatic space to urge restraint.
But such space depends on credibility, she said, adding that credibility in turn rests on the perception that India is speaking out of principle rather than expediency.
“This is not just a moral proposition, it is a strategic imperative. Nearly 10 million Indians live and work in the Gulf. In past crises – from the Gulf War to Yemen to Iraq and Syria – India’s ability to protect its citizens rested on its credibility as an independent actor, not as a proxy,” she argued.
Khamenei was killed in a major attack by Israel and the US in the early hours of Saturday. In the attacks on Iran launched by the United States and Israel. Iran has been linked to attacks on US and Israeli bases in neighboring Muslim countries and Israel.
Key things
- India’s silence on Khamenei’s assassination raises concerns about its foreign policy credibility, Sonia said.
- The targeted killing of a foreign leader undermines international norms and principles, she said.
- Sonia Gandhi calls for a parliamentary debate on the government’s stance on international conflicts.
