Iran Crisis: Sonia Gandhi said – the government's silence on Khamenei's assassination is not neutrality, it is an abdication of responsibility.

Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has sharply criticized the Modi government's silence on the targeted assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Sonia Gandhi stated that this silence is not neutrality, but an abdication of responsibility. She said this raises serious questions about the direction and credibility of India's foreign policy.

In a newspaper article, Sonia Gandhi stated that on March 1, Iran confirmed that its Supreme Leader had been killed in targeted attacks carried out by the United States and Israel the previous day. She described this as a serious disruption in international relations, calling it the assassination of a ruling head of state amid ongoing negotiations. She also demanded a discussion on the issue in Parliament.

Taking aim at PM Modi

Sonia Gandhi said that the Indian government neither condemned the assassination nor issued a clear response to the violation of Iran's sovereignty. She alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi initially criticized Iran's retaliatory strikes against the UAE without mentioning the US-Israeli attacks. He further stated that the Prime Minister later expressed deep concern and normalized dialogue and diplomacy, while this process was ongoing before the attacks.

He stated that the assassination of a head of state without a formal declaration of war and during diplomatic proceedings is contrary to the spirit of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any country. He argued that if such acts are not subjected to principled objections by the world's largest democracy, the erosion of international standards will become normalized.

What did Sonia Gandhi say about India's foreign policy?

He also noted that the Prime Minister had returned from a visit to Israel just 48 hours before the assassination, where he reiterated his support for PM Benjamin Netanyahu's government. According to Gandhi, India's stance, amid the distancing of many countries in the Global South and BRICS partners, is worrying and sends the wrong signals.