Interestingly, Khamenei’s remarks came on the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death. The 22-year-old Iranian woman was arrested for protesting the hijab and died after being beaten in police custody, leading to widespread outrage and large-scale protests in Iran.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei, has recently criticized India, along with Gaza and Myanmar, as places where Muslims are suffering. India responded strongly, calling these comments “misinformed” and “unacceptable.”
Khamenei wrote on social media, “Our enemies try to make us ignore our shared identity as Muslims. We can’t call ourselves Muslims if we ignore the suffering of Muslims in #Myanmar, #Gaza, #India, or anywhere else.”
In reply, India’s Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement saying, “We strongly disapprove of the Supreme Leader of Iran’s comments about minorities in India. These comments are incorrect and unacceptable. Countries should look at their own records before making statements about others.”
Interestingly, Khamenei’s comments came on the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death. Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, was arrested for protesting the hijab and died after being beaten in police custody, sparking widespread protests in Iran.
This isn’t the first time Khamenei has criticized India. In March 2020, after riots in northeast Delhi, he called them a “massacre of Muslims” and urged India to address the actions of “extremist Hindus” to avoid being isolated from the Muslim world. He tweeted, “Muslims everywhere are heartbroken over the massacre of Muslims in India. The Indian government should confront extremist Hindus and their parties to avoid isolation from the Muslim world,” with the hashtag #IndianMuslimsInDanger.
In August 2019, Khamenei also expressed concern about Muslims in Kashmir shortly after India removed special status from the region. He tweeted, “We are worried about Muslims in Kashmir. We have good relations with India but expect the Indian government to treat the people of Kashmir fairly and stop the oppression of Muslims there.” India rejected his comments.
Iran has criticized India before, including after the 2002 Gujarat riots and the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition. Khamenei has often spoken about Kashmir, with notable comments in 2017 and 2010. In 2010, Khamenei highlighted the need for Muslim support for Kashmir, comparing it to Gaza and Afghanistan. This focus was partly due to Iran’s displeasure with India’s votes against it at the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2008 and 2009.