The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday rebuked Tehran over the recent remarks made by Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei regarding Muslims in India. In dia issued a statement condemning the remarks and said, "We strongly deplore the comments made regarding minorities in India by the Supreme Leader of Iran. These are misinformed and unacceptable."
In its statement, the MEA also advised countries making statements on minorities in India to look at their record. The statement read, "Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others."
India's statement came hours after Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei said that one can not consider oneself a Muslim if they are oblivious to the sufferings of Muslims in Myanmar, Gaza and India. In a post on X, Khamenei said, "The attempt of the enemies of Islam has been to make us indifferent to the unique identity called "Islamic Ummah", one cannot consider oneself a Muslim and at the same time be oblivious to the sufferings that a Muslim goes through at Myanmar, at Gaza, in India or elsewhere."
Khamenei gave the statement while he faced backlash at home for curbing women's rights and imposing a burqa and hijab. Earlier in the day, thousands of women hit the street in Tehran marking the second death anniversary of Mahasa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died after she was arrested by Iran's morality police for not wearing hijab. Amini's death sparked a series of protests. Eventually, she became the symbol of resistance for women's rights activists.
