India has said Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments on Indian Muslims are "unacceptable". Posting on X on the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed, the Iranian leader had clubbed Indian Muslims with those in Gaza, talking about their sufferings.
"We strongly deplore the comments made regarding minorities in India by the Supreme Leader of Iran," the foreign ministry has said in a statement.
"These are misinformed and unacceptable. Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others," New Delhi has added.
In his post on X, Ayatollah Ali 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.
India shares close ties with both nations. If 80 per cent of oil comes from West Asia, the strategic relationship with Israel - especially in terms of defence and security - is evolving.
Teheran is the biggest supplier of crude in West Asia. New Delhi and Teheran also share concerns of terror from Pakistan and Afghanistan and hope for the Chabahar port. Terror is also what binds India with Israel, with both nations suffering during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, which was why India lent support to Israel in the first few hours of the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas.
