India condoles death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

India on Thursday expressed condolences over the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, marking the country’s first formal response days after the

86-year-old Iranian leader was killed in a joint military operation carried out by the United States and Israel. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signed the condolence book at the Iranian embassy on behalf of the Government of India.

In a separate diplomatic outreach, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi. Jaishankar later confirmed the interaction on a social media post.

India had initially maintained silence following reports of Khamenei’s death and has not directly condemned the US-Israeli military action. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging efforts toward an early end to hostilities in the region.