NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has categorically refused to send any of his high-level official delegation to the funeral rites of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in order to appease Israel and simultaneously manage its close strategic partnership with it.
The last rites of the martyred Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are underway in the Iranian capital Tehran, in which high-level delegations from several countries, including Egypt, Qatar and Pakistan, are present in Tehran to participate. However, unlike these international delegations, the Modi government of India has refrained from sending any large ministerial delegation there.
The delegation sent by India to Tehran is being led only by Bihar Governor Syed Atta Hasnain and Deputy Foreign Minister Pabtar Margherita, which is being considered a very low-level representation in diplomatic circles.
The renowned Indian Magazine The Wire has also strongly criticized India’s decision not to send a high-level delegation in its report.
According to the report, Modi’s major decision to not attend Ali Khamenei’s funeral and avoid the high-level delegation reflects India’s growing distance from Iran.
