PTI
New Delhi, Mar 03, 2026 — Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to state clearly whether he supports the assassination of a head of state as an acceptable means to shape the global order, amid rising tensions between the US, Israel and Iran.
Gandhi said India should condemn unilateral military strikes as well as retaliatory attacks by Iran and that remaining silent harms the country’s international standing. In a post on X, he wrote that silence now diminishes India’s standing in the world.
His remarks followed confirmation from Iran that its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been killed in targeted strikes the previous day attributed to the United States and Israel. Gandhi warned that the escalating hostility among the US, Israel and Iran risks dragging a fragile region into wider conflict, creating uncertainty for millions of people, including nearly 10 million Indians living in the area.
“While security concerns are real, attacks that violate sovereignty will only worsen the crisis,” the former Congress president said. “The unilateral attacks on Iran, as well as Iran’s attacks on other Middle Eastern nations, must be condemned. Violence begets violence — dialogue and restraint remain the only path to peace.”
Gandhi called on India to be morally explicit and to defend international law and human lives. He reminded that India’s foreign policy is grounded in respect for sovereignty and the peaceful resolution of disputes, and argued it should remain consistent. He urged the prime minister to publicly clarify his position.
The United States and Israel carried out a major attack on Iran on Saturday. US President Donald Trump, according to reports, urged the Iranian public to take control of their destiny and rise against the Islamic leadership that has governed Iran since 1979.
