00:00Let's quickly cut across to the latest news break that is coming in.
00:02Foreign Secretary on behalf of Government of India
00:05has signed the condolence book at the Embassy of Iran today.
00:10Well, that is a huge development.
00:12The Foreign Secretary of India on behalf of the Government of India
00:15has signed the condolence book at the Embassy of Iran today.
00:20There will be political meaning of all of this,
00:23of the signing of the condolence book.
00:26There has been certain criticism that has been coming India's way
00:31that India didn't outrightly come out and condemn
00:34the killing of an international leader, Ayatollah Khamenei,
00:39and the way he was assassinated.
00:41And the optics of this, of India's Foreign Secretary
00:46on behalf of the Government of India,
00:47signing the condolence book at the Embassy of Iran today
00:51will, to some level, in terms of sheer optics,
00:56be an answer to the kind of criticism
00:58that India is coming under of not taking a clear stand
01:01on the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader.
01:04Those visuals that you see on your television screen
01:07is the Foreign Secretary of India
01:11who just a short while ago signed the condolence book
01:14at the Embassy of Iran today.
01:16Lots of developments have happened, viewers,
01:18which has made, you know, at least India come out in this case.
01:23Sign the condolence book of the assassination
01:27on the Supreme Leader of Iran.
01:29It was only yesterday that an Iranian ship
01:32with Iranian sailors were torpedoed by the United States of America
01:39after it was returning from an excise conducted
01:43of an invitation given by India in Vizac.
01:48And at the back of it, you have now also a fair amount of criticism
01:54that has been coming India's way,
01:55that we haven't been out rightly vocal of standing
01:59besides who has been over decades seen as India's friend Iran.
02:03So in terms of optics, it is Foreign Secretary Mishri
02:07who is signing the condolence book at the Embassy of Iran today.
02:12How much will it dispel Prane Upadhyay,
02:15our editor, India Today Global, joining us.
02:16Prane, how much of that, you know, of these optics
02:20can actually quell the criticism coming India's way
02:24of not openly condemning the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader?
02:30But this is certainly a statement, Freeti,
02:32that the Foreign Secretary of India, Vikram Mishri,
02:34went to the Iranian embassy in New Delhi
02:37because Iran has opened a condolence book
02:41for the diplomats, for people to express their condolences
02:44on the death or rather the killing of the Supreme Leader of Iran,
02:47Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the U.S. and Israel-led military strikes.
02:51And Foreign Secretary of India, Vikram Mishri, went there.
02:54He had a meeting with the Iranian ambassador as well
02:56after signing the condolence book.
02:58And this is, I think, the highest level of government,
03:01you know, representation at the level of Foreign Secretary
03:05in the, you know, in the Iranian embassy
03:08to express our condolences and to convey the sentiments
03:11from the government of India.
03:12You know, rather than issuing a formal statement,
03:15this itself is a statement,
03:17and I think whatever Foreign Secretary must have written
03:19in the condolence book, you know,
03:21will also be part of the record that India has expressed,
03:25India stood up, and India has expressed its condolence
03:27on the killing and the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
03:30Because in large number of people, people in India,
03:33especially in the Muslim community of India,
03:35you know, they have, you know, feelings,
03:38they have sentiments, you know,
03:40as far as the killing or this assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
03:43we have seen the protest in different parts of India.
03:47And that's why, you know,
03:48the government also thought that there should be a messaging.
03:52I can't say with surety that whether the recent political controversy
03:56or the political questions, you know,
03:59which were raised by the political or the opposition leaders
04:03had any impact or not,
04:04but certainly this has its own messaging
04:07that India is not quiet.
04:09India has taken a side,
04:12and this has also taken at a time,
04:14this step by the Foreign Secretary,
04:15when Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi,
04:18just a while ago,
04:19while sharing a dais with the Finland President,
04:21has said that the military solutions
04:23or the military actions
04:25will never give solution or permanent solutions.
04:28Dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward
04:30to resolve issue.
04:32And India had multiple times urged all the parties,
04:35be the West Asia conflict or the Russia-Ukraine conflict,
04:37that the dialogue and diplomacy
04:39is the only way forward to resolve issue.
04:41And the warring parties should come to table of negotiation
04:45and dialogue and diplomacy to resolve issues.
04:49Prane, you know, the optics that are coming in
04:51from the Iranian embassy right now are quite big
04:54because I would think, and correct me if I'm wrong,
04:56this is the first time where openly India seemingly
05:00has condoned the death and the assassination
05:02of Iran's supreme leader.
05:04Having said that, you had Minister of External Affairs,
05:07Mr. Jay Shankar,
05:08who had spoken to the Iranian foreign minister.
05:11But even then, you know, at least what was out in public domain
05:15was that conversation was aimed more at expressing concern
05:19over recent developments and de-escalation,
05:21not so much as condoning the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
05:26The phone conversation which you were referring,
05:28you know, you're referring, Priti,
05:30that conversation took place before this news came out
05:34of the assassination of the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
05:38And in fact, the Indian foreign minister
05:40was the first foreign minister or first minister from India
05:43who spoke to either parties, to both the parties.
05:46He also, he spoke to his Iranian counterparts,
05:49Abbas Arrakchini, he also spoke to Gideon Saar,
05:51his Israeli counterpart.
05:52And in fact, he urged both the parties
05:54to refrain and to go for de-escalation,
05:57dialogue and diplomacy.
06:00So, these optics that have come out, you know, Pranay,
06:03the question that I was asking also
06:04is the first official optics of India condoning the death,
06:09at least, you know, it remains to be seen
06:11what the message is in the condolence book,
06:13but openly condoning the death of Iran's supreme leader,
06:19you know, Iran, a country that has been
06:20a long-standing association where India is concerned
06:23and had been considered not an ally,
06:26but a dear friend of India.
06:27Absolutely, and in fact, India has, you know,
06:31long-standing civilizational, historical linkages
06:34and relation with people of Iran.
06:36And in fact, you know, India had an investment in Iran.
06:40And also, this is also an expression of India
06:44to respect feelings, you know, in India
06:48because a large number of people,
06:50especially in the Muslim community of India,
06:52they look up to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
06:54He was not only a head of a religious figure of Iran,
06:58but, you know, a large number of Shia population.
07:00You know, they had, you know, great regard and respect for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
07:05Pranay, was this expected that we will have somebody from India,
07:09here, of course, in the form of Foreign Secretary Vikram Mishri,
07:12who would be signing the condolence book at the Iranian embassy?
07:15Was this expected of India because, you know,
07:18the embassy is in the national capital, India?
07:21You know, let me share with you, Briti,
07:23that, you know, we have been asking this question
07:25to our friends and to the MEA officials,
07:29you know, in MEA.
07:30And we have been told that just wait for the right moment.
07:34There will be a response from India.
07:36There will be a statement from India.
07:37So this has come as a statement.
07:39I won't say that there is a written statement
07:41issued by the government of India on this issue.
07:43But in fact, this action speak itself as a statement
07:46that India has sent its senior most diplomat
07:49to express condolence and to write in the condolence book
07:52and express the feelings of India.
07:55Thank you, Pranay, for joining us for that quick update.
07:58In terms of optics, this will go a long way.
08:00This is the first official, you know,
08:02in terms of visuals that are coming in
08:04or a statement one can say
08:06that India has condoned the death
08:08and sympathized with the assassination
08:10of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
08:14We're going to keep a keen eye on all developments.
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