Shashi Tharoor: India should've issued condolences on Khamenei's killing even without
Shashi Tharoor: India should've issued condolences on Khamenei's killing even without condemning US-Israeli action
M.U.H
20/03/202611
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said that India issuing a timely condolence on the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would have been the “most appropriate thing to do” even if the US-Israeli action was not condemned.
The Lok Sabha MP also said that the government must act with restraint during such a raging conflict, asserting that he would have advised the same to a Congress government.
“I agree with the critics. The very first day of the conflict, when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed, we should have expressed our condolences. That would have been the most appropriate thing to do. It would have been the right thing to do given his role in the country,” Tharoor told news agency ANI on whether India should have issued condolences on the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader on 28 March.
The Congress MP further recalled India's position after former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in 2024.
“When President Raisi died in the helicopter crash, we immediately declared mourning and issued condolences. However, I am glad that when the Iranian Embassy in Delhi opened a condolence book, our Foreign Secretary was sent immediately to express condolences,” Tharoor said.
Tharoor explained the difference between condolence and condemnation, suggesting that while not condemning, the US-Israeli action against Iran was fine, India could at least have expressed sympathy for the bereaved.
“There is a difference between condolence and condemnation. If you feel politically that you are not going to condemn what the American-Israeli attack has done, that's fine. However, condolence is an expression of sympathy for the bereaved one and to the government and people of Iran. That is something we could have done,” Tharoor said.
