India on Monday slammed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamanei's remark on minorities in the country.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement condemned Khamanei's remarks and termed it as "misinformed" and "unacceptable".
"We strongly deplore the comments made regarding minorities in India by the Supreme Leader of Iran. These are misinformed and unacceptable. Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others," said MEA.
La tentative des ennemis de l’Islam a été de nous rendre indifférents à l’identité unique appelée "Oummah islamique"; On ne peut pas se considérer comme musulman et en même temps être inconscient des souffrances qu'un musulman traverse au #Myanmar, à #Gaza, en #Inde ou ailleurs.
— Ayatollah Khamenei (@fr_Khamenei) September 16, 2024
On the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed, Khamenei equated the "suffering" of Muslims in India to those in Gaza and Myanmar. The supreme leader also called for solidarity among the members of the community across the world.
“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,” Khamenei said in his post on X.
This is not the first time Iran's supreme leader has mentioned the Muslims in India. In 2019, Khamenei reacted to the Narendra Modi government's decision to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
He had said, "We're concerned about Muslims' situation in Kashmir. We have good relations with India, but we expect the Indian government to adopt a just policy towards the noble people of Kashmir and prevent the oppression and bullying of Muslims in this region."
