<p>New Delhi: The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli strike has sparked sporadic protests in India, especially in cities and towns with substantial Shia populations.</p>.<p>Unlike his predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, had no Indian connection.</p>.<p>In 1988, Khamenei assumed power from Ruhollah Khomeini, whose grandfather Syed Ahmad Musavi Hindi belonged to Kitoor in Barabanki district, about 70 km east of Lucknow. Hindi migrated to Najaf in Iraq in 1830 and later settled in Khomeyn in Iran.</p>.<p>Many Shia clerics continue to visit Islamic seminaries in Najaf, Karbala in Iraq, and Qom in Iran for further studies.</p>.Karnataka: Chikkaballapur village grieves death of Iran’s leader Khamenei .<p>The Indo-Persian trade and cultural relations are, however, of a much older vintage, going back almost a millennium. Ashrafpur-Kichaucha, a small town located 100 km east of Lucknow in Ambedkarnagar district, is home to the tomb of the third most revered Sufi saint in India. Built atop a small hillock, the shrine of Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Simnan attracts lakhs of followers every year and stands as a testament to a syncretic cultural evolution.</p>.<p>The Persian influence in the courts of the Nawabs of Avadh was evident. The royal family of Lucknow traced their origins to Nishapur in Khorasan province of the Safavid Empire in Iran. Under the Shia Nawabs, Lucknow emerged as the key centre of Shi’ism and Islam in the 18th and 19th centuries.</p>.<p>After the 1979 Revolution, Iran entered into a prolonged war on its western front with Iraq. India did a fine balancing act to protect its energy interests in West Asia. After the Cold War, the relations between the two countries warmed up with the visit of the then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao to Tehran in 1993. In 1995, the then president Rafsanjani made a reciprocal visit to India.</p>.<p>Atal Bihar Vajpayee, former PM and the Lok Sabha MP from Lucknow, further strengthened India-Iran ties on a wide range of issues, including strategic and defence cooperation, by signing the Tehran declaration in 2001 to meet India’s strategic objectives in Central Asia and the west of Pakistan. In 2003, Iranian president Khatami was the chief guest at the annual Republic Day parade in Delhi.</p>.<p>Even as it firmed up its ties with Israel, India sought to, albeit judiciously, engage with Iran despite the Western sanctions over its nuclear programme imposed in 2006. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also travelled to Iran in 2016.</p>.<p>The development of the Chabahar port is one such project that has withstood the transition of power in New Delhi. Conceived to give a fillip to trade between India, Iran and Afghanistan, it also provides a crucial link to the International North-South Corridor between India, Iran and Russia (now joined by 11 other countries) to boost trade between the Central Asian Republics and beyond by providing a seamless cargo movement between Mumbai and Astrakhan, a Russian port in the Caspian Sea.</p>.<p>However, in a departure from long-standing practice, in the 2026 budget, the Government of India did not allocate Rs 100 crore for the Chabahar port.</p>
<p>New Delhi: The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli strike has sparked sporadic protests in India, especially in cities and towns with substantial Shia populations.</p>.<p>Unlike his predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, had no Indian connection.</p>.<p>In 1988, Khamenei assumed power from Ruhollah Khomeini, whose grandfather Syed Ahmad Musavi Hindi belonged to Kitoor in Barabanki district, about 70 km east of Lucknow. Hindi migrated to Najaf in Iraq in 1830 and later settled in Khomeyn in Iran.</p>.<p>Many Shia clerics continue to visit Islamic seminaries in Najaf, Karbala in Iraq, and Qom in Iran for further studies.</p>.Karnataka: Chikkaballapur village grieves death of Iran’s leader Khamenei .<p>The Indo-Persian trade and cultural relations are, however, of a much older vintage, going back almost a millennium. Ashrafpur-Kichaucha, a small town located 100 km east of Lucknow in Ambedkarnagar district, is home to the tomb of the third most revered Sufi saint in India. Built atop a small hillock, the shrine of Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Simnan attracts lakhs of followers every year and stands as a testament to a syncretic cultural evolution.</p>.<p>The Persian influence in the courts of the Nawabs of Avadh was evident. The royal family of Lucknow traced their origins to Nishapur in Khorasan province of the Safavid Empire in Iran. Under the Shia Nawabs, Lucknow emerged as the key centre of Shi’ism and Islam in the 18th and 19th centuries.</p>.<p>After the 1979 Revolution, Iran entered into a prolonged war on its western front with Iraq. India did a fine balancing act to protect its energy interests in West Asia. After the Cold War, the relations between the two countries warmed up with the visit of the then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao to Tehran in 1993. In 1995, the then president Rafsanjani made a reciprocal visit to India.</p>.<p>Atal Bihar Vajpayee, former PM and the Lok Sabha MP from Lucknow, further strengthened India-Iran ties on a wide range of issues, including strategic and defence cooperation, by signing the Tehran declaration in 2001 to meet India’s strategic objectives in Central Asia and the west of Pakistan. In 2003, Iranian president Khatami was the chief guest at the annual Republic Day parade in Delhi.</p>.<p>Even as it firmed up its ties with Israel, India sought to, albeit judiciously, engage with Iran despite the Western sanctions over its nuclear programme imposed in 2006. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also travelled to Iran in 2016.</p>.<p>The development of the Chabahar port is one such project that has withstood the transition of power in New Delhi. Conceived to give a fillip to trade between India, Iran and Afghanistan, it also provides a crucial link to the International North-South Corridor between India, Iran and Russia (now joined by 11 other countries) to boost trade between the Central Asian Republics and beyond by providing a seamless cargo movement between Mumbai and Astrakhan, a Russian port in the Caspian Sea.</p>.<p>However, in a departure from long-standing practice, in the 2026 budget, the Government of India did not allocate Rs 100 crore for the Chabahar port.</p>