Puducherry: In an already volatile region of Middle East/West Asia, the Islamic Republic of Iran faces various domestic and international challenges. From internal protests to crippling economic sanctions to the regional spillover of the Israel-Hamas war. Amid of all the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on September 16, to mark the occasion of Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, Prophet Muhammed’s birth anniversary, wrote on X, “The enemies of Islam have always tried to make us indifferent with regard to our shared identity as an Islamic Ummah. 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.” This statement, notably, came on the second anniversary of MahsaAmini’s death, an event that sparked widespread protests in Iran. The timing and content of Khamenei’s message raised eyebrows both domestically and internationally, particularly in India.
India’s Swift and Strong Response
India, on the same day, “strongly” abhorred Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comment on the condition of the Muslim community in India. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) described the remark as “unacceptable”. “We strongly deplore the comments made regarding minorities in India by the Supreme Leader of Iran. These are misinformed and unacceptable. Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others,” the MEA said in a response.
Iran’s Domestic Turmoil, International Pressures and Regional Setbacks
Domestically, Iran faced a number of protests and resentment from its citizens on issues such as grappling with an unprecedented crisis of legitimacy of the government and the alleged human rights violation of Kurdish minorities. Inflation is already high, which is putting an extra financial burden on Iranian citizens. Having good diplomatic and trade relations with India becomes important. Additionally, the sudden death of the previous President, Ebrahim Raisi, in a helicopter crash put Iran through an untimely national election. This unexpected political crisis came at a crucial juncture for Iran, and potentially impacted its domestic and foreign policies.
Internationally, stringent economic sanctions from the West, especially from the US, caused sluggish economic growth. There is no sign of going forward with the Nuclear Deal, and on top of it, the killing of the Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, on Iranian soil brought humiliation to the country. It is also important to note that there has been no retaliation or diplomatic answer to the assassination of the Hamas political leader, which put into question Iran’s regional capability and support to its proxies and Palestinian people. Keeping the current situation in mind, Iran should focus on making new allies and keeping the old ones near. Statements of these kinds, where the supreme leader says, “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.” Then it questions the religiosity of the Ayatollah on how many Palestinian refugees have been given shelter in Iran and what Iran has done for the sustenance of the Palestinians rather than using them as scapegoats for his political chessboard which is simply anti-West. The other angle to this tweet and the unwarranted outburst can be seen as a distraction strategy of the Ayatollah as nothing happened even after he gave a call for a direct attack on Israel. It would be interesting for strategic thinkers to investigate why the leaders, including from the military, have not been able to deliver what has been asked by the Supreme leader. Secondly, is the Supreme leader lying to the people of Iran, Palestine and Lebanon that he would wage a war and annihilate Israel?
The Ayatollah does not need to go for diplomatic negotiations or deal with negative outcomes from foreign policy, whereas the elected individuals and serving diplomats have to face wrath in practising foreign policy. The Ayatollah is far away from the realpolitik and precisely for this reason the leaders might be not willing to carry his decisions and rantings on different nations. The political leaders have been rational in this regard as Iran has a very limited number of nations to call as friends and this outburst from the Ayatollah on India has put Iran into an embarrassing situation where they can neither oppose the Ayatollah outrightly nor second his opinion publicly. This is very much visible as none of the prominent leaders has written against India after the tweet from the Ayatollah.
‘Look to the East’ Policy and Relations with India
The world knows how Western countries neglected and put Iran under sanctions, which devastated its economy under the influence of the US, and that is why Iran brought up the ‘Look to the East’ (Negahe-be-sharqi) policy in its foreign policy, highlighting the significance of building cordial relations with countries east of Iran. Historically, India and Iran share good cultural and trade relations. People-to-people connection is another good component of the relationship between these civilisational states. However, such misinformed statements from the political and spiritual leaders of Iran undermines the confidence and trust in the relationship. This is not the first time that he has commented on an internal matter of India and the condition of Muslims in India. When the Government of India abrogated Article 370, revoking special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the Ayatollah had then posted on X, “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.”
Iran’s repeated comments on the condition of Muslims in other countries can be seen as part of its aspiration to project itself as the legitimate leader of the Muslim world. However, Iran never commented or uttered a word against its ally China on the mistreatment and subjugation of Uyghur Muslims in Xixiang province. Being in China’s good books by avoiding commenting on Uyghurs seems to be a priority in order to garner economic and diplomatic support in world politics, which exhibits duplicity in the behaviour of the Islamic Republic.
CONCLUSION
Iran’s recent statements about Muslims in India reveal a complex web of domestic and international challenges. While attempting to position itself as a leader of the Muslim world, Iran’s actions betray inconsistencies, particularly in its silence on the Uyghur situation in China. These comments not only strain relations with India, a historically friendly nation but also highlight Iran’s precarious diplomatic balancing act. The country’s focus on external issues may be an attempt to divert attention from internal strife, economic hardships, and recent security failures. As Iran navigates its ‘Look to the East’ policy, it must recognise the importance of maintaining positive relations with countries like India. Moving forward, Iran would be wise to address its internal challenges and regional security concerns rather than making provocative statements about other nations’ internal affairs, which ultimately undermine its own credibility and diplomatic goals.
Iran has to remember that it is not dealing with an India of a few decades ago but an India that has arrived in the international arena through its strength and sheer willingness to engage in world affairs. This has been particularly substantiated by the type of invitation it has received from Russia and Ukraine to negotiate the conflict where none of the great powers or major powers, including China, have been invited. India’s track record of including the whole of Africa in the form of the African Union in the G20 is a hallmark of its inclusive and enlightened national interest laced in its foreign policy and its engagement with the world. Iran and the Ayatollah have to take a pause and introspect if ever India has commented adversely on Iran in the gravest of the situation in the past. A great civilization such as Iran should have the acumen accumulated in the past in dealing with nations through foreign policy to recognize who is a friend and who is an enemy in the current world order. India would never hurt Iran but will Iran at least learn to keep quiet when it is in its worst scenario in international relations?
Dr Nanda Kishor M.S., Head & Associate Professor, Department of Politics and International Studies, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India. He holds an M.Phil. and Ph.D. from the University of Hyderabad and a Post-doc from the University of Leiden
Anmol Kumar is a Research Assistant at Pondicherry University. His interests lie in geopolitics, power politics, and foreign policy in West Asia.