Congress-led UPA voted three times against Iran :::: New Delhi has good reasons not to remember deceased Iranian Supreme leader Khamenei as a 'friend'

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used the hashtag 'Indian Muslims in Danger' in 2020. This was on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) row. He had bluntly interfered in India's internal affairs, calling to confront 'extremist Hindus' and also described the communal riots as a massacre of Muslims that (unfounded claims) threatened India with isolation from the world of Islam. 

In 2017, Iran's Supreme Leader, had called on the Muslim world to mobilise support for what he described as 'oppressed Muslims of Kashmir'.  

So in circa 2026 -- when Iran is cornered and militarily under attack by India's two key strategic partners the US and Israel --- New Delhi has good reasons not to remember the deceased Iranian leader as a 'friend'. 

These were multiple other moments when he left the Modi Govt provoked and anguished.

He targeted New Delhi between 2019 (abrogation of Article 370) to 2024 (comparing India to Gaza).

For records, each time the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had summoned the Iranian envoy and registered the formal protest. 

In September 2024, Khamenei placed India alongside Gaza in a tweet.

And the MEA responded calling such reference as "misinformed and unacceptable." 

Come to think of it; India has to depend on Smart Diplomacy. The so-called equi-distance is a misnomer and outdated phenomenon in the contemporary setting. 

Iran is now involved in military escalations not only against Israel and the US.

It is in confrontation and military conflict also within the Arab region, including missile and drone strikes targeting Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Muslim-majority countries.

These nations in effect host about million Indian nationals and hence any misadventure to side with Iran at this juncture may actually backfire. 

The Congress party and leaders such as Sonia Gandhi and Malikarjun Kharge may try to see these on-going conflicts as occasions to playout their good old Muslim-appeasement politics. 

"When the targeted killing of a foreign leader draws no clear defence of sovereignty or international law from our country and impartiality is abandoned, it raises serious doubts about the direction and credibility of our foreign policy," Sonia Gandhi wrote in an article to a national daily. Prior to that Kharge had issued a statement and spoke rather philosophically about Vasudeva Kutumbakam and so on. 

The Congress party is not quite pleased with PM Narendra Modi's visit to Israel too. Sonia Gandhi says: 

"The unease is compounded by the timing. Barely 48 hours before the assassination, the Prime Minister returned from a visit to Israel, where he reiterated unequivocal support for the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, even as the Gaza conflict continues to draw global outrage over the scale of civilian casualties, many of them women and children". 

France’s La Tribune newspaper asks if it is “The end of the Mullahs?”

Modi actually held a telephonic conversation with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and maintained that India supports de-escalation and regional peace.

He had also thanked Al Nahyan for taking care of the Indian community in the UAE. 

The fact of the matter is the IRGC struck Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar — the largest US air base in the Middle East. It hit the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. 

It targeted UAE bases near Abu Dhabi, Kuwait’s Central Command sites, and installations across at least six nations. 

Iranian media framed each strike as retaliation against “legitimate military targets,” warning non-US sites to stand clear.  The Congress also has an habit of selective amnesia.

 

Between 2004-14, the Congress-led UPA government voted against Iran three times at the IAEA — in 2005, 2006, and 2009 — during negotiations for the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement.

Incidentally, Ayatollah Ali Khemenei was seen as a major oppressor of women in Iran and against equality and women's rights.

Following his death, global reactions were mixed. 

Of the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), fewer than 10 publicly expressed condolences. 

Countries such as the United States, Israel, Argentina and Ukraine welcomed the development. Meanwhile, treaty allies and partners including Russia, China and North Korea, along with several Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Iraq, Malaysia and Turkey, either condemned the strikes or offered condolences.

Sovereign nations decide their responses based on national interest; not for garnering votes -- something the Congress party is used to. 

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