NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has condemned comments by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei about the treatment of Muslims in the South Asian nation, calling his remarks “misinformed and unacceptable.”
“We cannot consider ourselves Muslims if we are unaware of the suffering a Muslim faces in Myanmar, Gaza, India or any other place,” Khamenei said in a post on social media on Monday.
In response, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it “strongly regrets” the comments.
“Countries that comment on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others,” the Foreign Office spokesman said.
The two countries have traditionally shared a strong relationship and signed a 10-year contract in May to develop and operate the Iranian port of Chabahar.
India has developed the port of Chabahar on Iran’s southeastern coast along the Gulf of Oman as a means of transporting goods to Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asian countries, bypassing the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in its rival Pakistan.
However, Khamenei has been critical of India in the past on issues related to Indian Muslims and the restive Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.
(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)