India hit back at Iran on Monday over comments made by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei about the South Asian country’s alleged mistreatment of its Muslim minority.
In a brief post to X on Monday, Khamenei 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.”
Hours later, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement where it “strongly deplored” Khamenei’s remarks, describing them as “misinformed and unacceptable.”
“Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others,” the statement continued.
The enemies of Islam have always tried to make us indifferent with regard to our shared identity as an Islamic Ummah. 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.ir (@khamenei_ir) September 16, 2024
Iran has come under repeated criticism by rights groups over its treatment of ethnic minorities. While Persians make up Iran’s largest ethnic group, dozens of other ethnic minority groups represent nearly 40% of the country’s 80 million population. The main minorities include Azeris, representing 16% of the population, Kurds (10%) and Lurs (6%), but also Baluchs, Arabs and Turkmens, according to the London-based Minority Rights Group.
Several rights groups, including Amnesty International, accuse Iranian authorities of systemic discrimination and violence against minorities in Iran, preventing them access to education, employment and housing. They are also “subjected to arbitrary detention, unjust prosecution, and torture and other ill-treatment,” Amnesty International wrote in its 2023 report on Iran.
Khamenei’s comments coincided with the second anniversary of the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, which prompted the nation-wide anti-regime protests in Iran.
India-Iran relations
Iran and India enjoy strong relations. The two countries signed in May a deal to develop the Chabahar Port, located in Iran’s southeast Sistan and Baluchistan province. Under the deal, India Ports Global Limited will invest about $120 million to develop and operate the port over 10 years.
India is also one of Iran’s top trading partners, with bilateral trade reaching $2.33 billion in 2023, according to the Indian Embassy in Tehran.
Khamenei, for his part, has criticized India in the past over its treatment of Muslims, including in the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.
In 2019, the Iranian leader called on New Delhi to adopt a “just policy” toward the Muslims of Kashmir and “prevent their oppression.”
