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India offers condolences on Khamenei's death, foreign secretary Vikram Misri signs condolence book
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, plunging the West Asian region into a war.
India has offered condolences on the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signing the condolence book at the Iranian embassy in New Delhi on Thursday.
Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, an incident that has plunged the West Asian region into a war.
Misri visited the Iranian embassy and signed the condolence book on behalf of the government of India.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) also released a photograph of the foreign secretary's conversation with the Iranian envoy to India, Mohammad Fathali.
India's call for de-escalation
Earlier on Tuesday, India had called for dialogue and diplomacy to end the Iran-US conflict early, emphasising the need to secure the interests of nearly 10 million Indians living in West Asia and to prevent disruptions to trade and energy supply chains, with potential “serious consequences” for the country’s economy.
Oil prices surged after Iranian forces effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz. Natural gas prices rose as QatarEnergy, one of the world’s largest exporters, halted production following attacks on its facilities. These developments have heightened concerns in India, the world’s second-largest crude importer, which meets around 85% of its needs through imports.
“In this background, India strongly reiterates its call for dialogue and diplomacy. We raise our voice clearly in favour of an early end to the conflict. Already, many lives have been regrettably lost, and we express our grief in that regard,” the external affairs ministry said in a detailed statement, three days after a brief and initial response to the evolving situation.
The statement noted there are almost 10 million Indian citizens living and working in the Gulf region, and said: “Their safety and well-being is of utmost priority. We cannot be impervious to any development that negatively affects them.”
With India’s trade and energy supply chains passing through the region, the statement said any “major disruption has serious consequences for the Indian economy”. The statement cited the prominent role of Indian citizens in the global workforce while firmly opposing attacks on merchant shipping.
“Already, some Indian nationals have lost their lives or are missing as a result of such attacks in the last few days,” it said.
Latest developments in the war
The war has since touched as far afield as the Sri Lankan coast, where a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship, and Azerbaijan, which threatened retaliation after a drone hit an airport.
Azerbaijan warned that the attack "will not go unanswered" and said it was "preparing the necessary retaliatory measures," raising fears of another country entering the fray.
Iran's official IRNA news agency said 1,045 military personnel and civilians have been killed since the war began, a toll that HT has not independently verified.
Iranian media reported Thursday that a sports complex, football stadium, municipality building and shop fronts across Tehran were damaged in Israeli and US strikes on the city.
