'India must be morally clear': Rahul Gandhi slams PM Modi's 'silence' on Khamenei's assassination

Warning that hostilities in West Asia is heading towards “wider conflict”, top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said India must be "morally clear" and should have the "courage to speak" in defence of international law, as he questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi whether he supported the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a way to define the world order.

Condemning the unilateral attacks on Iran as well as Tehran’s retaliatory attacks on other West Asian countries, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha insisted that silence “now diminishes India’s standing in the world”. 

His comments came on a day top Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in an article on Iran developments called for a debate “without evasion" in Parliament on the government's “disturbing silence” over assassination of the Iranian Supreme Leader and attack on Iran while selectively condemning Tehran’s attack on UAE.

While a statement by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia in her newspaper article have steered clear of questioning Iran, Rahul has acknowledged that the "security concerns" were "real" but went on to qualify that any attack that violates sovereignty will worsen the crisis.

Rahul said in the post on 'X' that the "escalating" hostilities between the United States, Israel and Iran are "pushing a fragile region toward wider conflict" in which crores of people, including nearly a crore Indians, face uncertainty.

"While security concerns are real, attacks that violate sovereignty will only worsen the crisis. The unilateral attacks on Iran, as well as Iran’s attacks on other Middle Eastern nations, must be condemned. Violence begets violence - dialogue and restraint remain the only path to peace," he said.

"India must be morally clear. We should have the courage to speak plainly in defence of international law and human lives. Our foreign policy is rooted in sovereignty and the peaceful resolution of disputes -- and it must remain consistent. PM Modi must speak up. Does he support the assassination of a Head of State as a way to define the world order? Silence now diminishes India’s standing in the world," he said.

In her article in 'Indian Express', Sonia had said Modi's “political endorsement” of Israel “without moral clarity” marks a “visible and troubling departure”. 

She said the killing of a Head of State “in the midst of ongoing negotiations” marks a “grave rupture” in contemporary international relations and beyond the shock of the event, “what stands out starkly” was New Delhi's “silence”. At moments when the rules-based order is under visible strain, she added, silence is “abdication”.

“The targeted killing of a foreign head of state, the erosion of international norms, and the widening instability in West Asia are not peripheral matters; they touch directly upon India's strategic interests and moral commitments. A clear articulation of India's position is overdue. Democratic accountability demands no less, and strategic clarity requires it,” she said.