'National embarrassment': Cong's Sharma slams govt for not condemning attack on Iran's sovereignty

New Delhi, Mar 3 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma on Tuesday said India's refusal to condemn the unprovoked attack on Iran's sovereignty by the US and Israel is a fundamental departure from the country's time-tested foreign policy and has "gravely undermined" its leadership of countries of the Global South.

The former Union minister said India's response in the wake of the US-Israel-Iran conflict is unbecoming of a country that has historically been the voice of the Global South and the leader of the Non-Aligned Movement.

In a post on X, Sharma said, "India's silence and refusal to condemn unprovoked attack on Iran's sovereignty by US and Israel, and the killing of its leader is a fundamental departure and an abdication of India's time-tested foreign policy to uphold international law, UN charter and national sovereignty." "This has gravely undermined India's credibility and its leadership of countries of the Global South," he added.

"It is ironic that as the current chairman of BRICS, India has been isolated to a minority of one, with all other BRICS countries having condemned the attack. This is a national embarrassment on which the government must answer," Sharma said.

His remarks came days after Iran confirmed that its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was assassinated in targeted strikes carried out by the US and Israel.

The Congress on Sunday "unequivocally" condemned the targeted assassination of Khamenei and said no external power has the authority to engineer a regime change, as such actions amount to imperialism and are incompatible with a rules-based international order.

The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, with US President Donald Trump calling on the Iranian public to seize control of their destiny and rise against the Islamic leadership that has ruled their country since 1979. PTI ASK RC