'Look At Their Own Record': MEA Condemns Iranian Supreme Leader's Comments On Indian Muslims

The external affairs ministry on Monday strongly condemned comments made by Iran’s Supreme Leader regarding the Muslim community in India and urged countries to “look at their own record” before commenting on others.

In a strongly worded statement, the MEA rejected his remarks about the “suffering” of Muslims in India, describing them as lacking an understanding of the situation in the country. “We strongly deplore the comments made regarding minorities in India by the Supreme Leader of Iran. These are misinformed and unacceptable,” the MEA said in a statement issued by the official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

‘Look at their own record’

Without naming any nation, the MEA also urged countries that make observations about the treatment of minorities to reflect on their “own records” before criticising India. “Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others,” the MEA added.

Earlier on Monday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei commented on the “suffering” of Muslims in Gaza, and Myanmar in a message promoting global Muslim solidarity. In the same message on Prophet Mohammed’s birth anniversary, he also mentioned India. In his statement posted on X, Khamenei did not provide specific reasons for mentioning India’s Muslim minority.

“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. He added, “The enemies of Islam have always tried to make us indifferent with regard to our shared identity as an Islamic Ummah.”