India’s Condolences for Ayatollah Cleared Way for Deal on Hormuz
Members of the Shia Muslim community hold portraits of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a procession to commemorate him in Delhi, India, on March 10.
Photographer: Elke Scholiers/Getty ImagesFive days after the US and Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader, the top bureaucrat in India’s Foreign Ministry made his way to the Islamic Republic’s embassy on a tree-lined street in New Delhi.
Sitting next to a large photo of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 5, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signed a condolence book and expressed sympathies “on behalf of the people and the Government of India.” On the same day, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, their second since hostilities began.