Sonia Gandhi slams govt’s silence on Khamenei's death, calls it 'retreat from India’s principles'

Sonia Gandhi also raised doubts over the direction in which India's foreign policy is heading.

• Sonia Gandhi criticizes Modi govt for silence on Khamenei killing
• She says India's lack of response signals tacit endorsement
• Gandhi questions India's foreign policy direction and credibility

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Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, stating that the Centre's silence on the "targeted assassination" of Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is "not neutral but an abdication".

In the opinion editorial  piece in The Indian Express, Gandhi said India's lack of response "signals tacit endorsement of this tragedy".

On March 1, Iran confirmed that its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, had been assassinated in targeted strikes carried out the previous day by the United States and Israel.

"The killing of a sitting head of state in the midst of ongoing negotiations marks a grave rupture in contemporary international relations. Yet, beyond the shock of the event, what stands out equally starkly is New Delhi's silence," Gandhi said in her opinion piece.

She also accused the PM of confining himself to condemning Iran's retaliatory strike on the UAE without addressing the sequence of events that preceded it.

"Later, he uttered platitudes about his 'deep concern' and talked of 'dialogue and diplomacy' -- which is precisely what was underway before the massive unprovoked attacks launched by Israel and the US," she added.

Gandhi also raised doubts over the direction in which India's foreign policy is heading.

"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," she said.

She also flagged PM Modi's visit to Israel just before the attacks on Iran and expressed concern over "India's high-profile political endorsement without moral clarity".

"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," Gandhi said.

According to Gandhi, at a time when much of the Global South, along with major powers and India's partners in BRICS such as Russia and China, have kept their distance, India's "high-profile political endorsement without moral clarity marks a visible and troubling departure".

Gandhi also demanded a discussion on the government's "disturbing silence" in the second part of the Budget session.

US and Israel conducted airstrikes across multiple Iranian cities on February 28, targeting military command centres, air-defence systems, missile sites, and key regime infrastructure.

In response, Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, further widening the conflict in the Middle East and heightening risks for civilians and expatriates alike.