Will Ayatollah Khamenei's 'Suffering of Muslims' Jab Dent India-Iran Ties?

Iran's supreme leader's comments are surprising given the growing closeness between India and Iran, say experts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding a meeting with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on 23 May 2016. 

(Photo Courtesy: X/Altered by The Quint) 

Was it merely a case of attacking India's democratic credentials, or did domestic and global compulsions compel Iran's supreme leader to go all out in his criticism?

Questions have been raised over the rationale behind statements made by Iran's head cleric Ayatollah Ali Khamenei regarding India's treatment of its Muslims.

"Such rhetoric is something that the supreme leader engages in on and off to portray Iran as the leader of the Muslim world," political analyst Aditi Bhaduri said while speaking to The Quint.

"India, being a democracy, is just a soft target for them."

Aditi Bhaduri

While Khamenei has made statements in the past regarding Muslims in India, his recent comments are surprising given the growing closeness between India and Iran – particularly following a landmark 10-year agreement over the management of the Chabahar Port in May.

So, what did Khamenei say? Taking to X on the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed on Monday, 16 September, the 85-year-old religious leader highlighted the "suffering" of Muslims worldwide, singling out India, Gaza, and Myanmar.

"We cannot consider ourselves to be Muslims if we are oblivious to the suffering that a Muslim is enduring in #Myanmar, #Gaza, #India, or any other place," Khamenei said.

Quick in its response, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) sharply reacted, saying that Iran must look at its own record before passing judgement upon others.

"These (comments) are misinformed and unacceptable. Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others," New Delhi stated.

Ironically, the religious leader's comments came on the day marking the second death anniversary of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini – who was killed by the country's contentious morality police for not following the mandatory dress code for women. Her death had sparked unprecedented protests, with thousands of women taking to the streets without covering their heads with hijabs or headscarves.

Making Sense of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Attack

Iran, being a predominantly Shia country, has often struggled with its position among Islamic countries. While it has often claimed to be a guiding light for Muslims the world over, this claim has been contested by powerful Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

Iran's efforts in this regard hit a roadblock when one looks at the global population of Shias and Sunnis. Close to 90 percent of Muslims in the world are Sunni whereas only around 10 percent belong to the Shia community.

Hence, the comments of the supreme leader have more to do with Iran's own domestic and global posturing – given that the regime is on "shaky ground".

"Iran has been facing several setbacks of late – the recent one being the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh under high profile security in Tehran on 31 July. That doesn't paint a good picture about Iran's internal security. Moreover, the regime still continues to face a huge challenge from its own citizens, for instance, over the hijab row."

Aditi Bhaduri

Others, however, say that while Khamenei's clubbing together of India with Gaza might not be accurate as there is a war ongoing in the latter region, the supreme leader's comments cannot be altogether dismissed either.

"No matter what the MEA says, the Muslim community in India has been facing problems," ORF Distinguished Fellow Manoj Joshi told The Quint. "Take, for instance, issues over cow protection as well as anti-Muslim comments made by some members of the ruling administration, such as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma."

Will Khamenei's Comments Damage India-Iran Ties? 

While Khamenei's comments will initiate a back-and-forth of critique from both sides, a drastic downgrading of ties is highly unlikely. This is because India and Iran are formidable geopolitical and economic partners – which is certain to take precedence once the clamour around Khamenei's statement dies down.

"I don't think Khamenei's comments would cause a dent in ties as Iran and India would like to maintain good diplomatic and economic ties with each other," Bhaduri said.

Iran is located between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea – two major trade routes – and serves as a gateway for India to Afghanistan and Central Asian countries: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. If relations were to turn sour with Iran, India would have to depend overwhelmingly on Pakistan for trade with Central Asia – a compromise New Delhi is simply not willing to make.

Also, New Delhi and Tehran inked a landmark deal in May this year giving India the authority to operate one out of two terminals at the strategic Chabahar Port for a period of 10 years – signaling a willingness to continue long-term cooperation. Chabahar is considered to be India's counter to Pakistan's Gwadar Port and China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Further, India is the third-largest consumer of crude oil in the world and imports 85 percent of its total requirement. Iran has been a significant oil exporter to India and accounted for almost 11 percent of India's total oil import bill before 2019.

While India has since stopped importing Iranian oil following a US embargo on the country by the Donald Trump administration, there is always a possibility of renewing the partnership over oil in the future given India's needs.

Face-Off Between Progressives & Hardliners

Yet another facet of the supreme leader's comments can be found in the backdrop of an alleged face-off between progressives and hardliners in Iran.

Masoud Pezeshkian, who was elected as the president of Iran following the unfortunate demise of his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi, is viewed by many as being cut from the progressive and reformist cloth. As opposed to Raisi, who was a hardline cleric with views wholly mirroring that of the Khamenei-led religious hierarchy in Iran, Pezeshkian has called for greater cooperation with the west – something which had been unthinkable in the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The president also stated on Monday, 16 September, that Iranian women wouldn't be "bothered" by the country's morality police anymore – in open defiance of the theocracy's stance on the issue.

"The election of Pezeshkian has been a setback for the hardliners, whose views Ebrahim Raisi embodied. Iran is not a one-person rule – there are different voices and power groups, and Pezeshkian is definitely a symbol of change and churning in Iranian society," Bhaduri told The Quint.

According to a Reuters report, Khamenei only decided to elevate a moderate like Pezeshkian to the top post because of fears that Iranians would boycott the presidential election in the backdrop of anti-hijab protests and that a low turnout would damage the clerical establishment's credibility.

Past Instances of Ayatollah Khamenei's Criticism of India

Khamenei's latest statement is not the first diatribe he has made against India over its Muslim population.

For instance, after the northeast Delhi riots in 2020, the supreme leader urged India to confront "extremist Hindus and their parties" to prevent the "massacre of Muslims"

"The hearts of Muslims all over the world are grieving over the massacre of Muslims in India. The govt of India should confront extremist Hindus & their parties & stop the massacre of Muslims in order to prevent India’s isolation from the world of Islam," he had taken to X to say, with the hashtag #IndianMuslimslnDanger.

Similarly, following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, Khamenei expressed concern over the Muslim community in the erstwhile state – saying that they were being "oppressed" and "bullied".

"We’re concerned about Muslims’ situation in Kashmir. We have good relations with India, but we expect the Indian government to adopt a just policy towards the noble people of Kashmir and prevent the oppression & bullying of Muslims in this region," he had said.

His comments on Kashmir were surprising considering that Iran is one of the few Islamic countries that has consistently supported India's policies in the region despite an anti-India stance taken by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) – an intergovernmental organisation consisting of 57 countries, of which 48 are of Muslim majority.

Khamenei, who has been Iran's supreme leader since 1989, had also hit out at India following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat.

The only difference between his earlier comments and his latest remarks is that the latter were made without any provocation: which also explains the overtly bitter reaction to it by the MEA.

"The Indian government does not want to hear this (criticism) from Iran or even the US for that matter when their own track record is not great. What India is saying is that if you have the right to criticise us, then we have it, too," senior journalist Sanjay Kapoor told The Quint.