Condemning the joint US-Israeli military strikes on Iran, AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday expressed hope that the central government would play a role in stopping the war.
The MP from Hyderabad described the “assassination” of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as an “immoral and illegal act.”
Khamenei was killed in a major attack launched by Israel and the United States.
He said that attacks on Iran must stop immediately to prevent regional instability, noting that 10 million Indians work in the region.
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Speaking to reporters here, Owaisi said: “We hope that the government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will play a role in stopping this war. The war must end. He has a huge responsibility to take it forward because if this spreads, there will be huge disruption, uncertainty and instability.”
The AIMIM leader said that US President Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu jointly attacked Iran in the holy month of Ramadan.
“We condemn the attack on Iran.”
The AIMIM president warned that targeting a revered figure like Khamenei would not go unanswered, saying: “He (Khamenei) is a respected leader of the Shiite community and if you target him, the Iranians will not remain silent.”
Referring to the Iranian-American talks in Geneva, he said that the attack occurred despite the “breakthrough” in the talks.
“Therefore, when there was a breakthrough in the talks, the United States and Israel attacked Iran and killed an 86-year-old man (Khamenei),” he added.
He described it as a “cowardly, inhumane and immoral attack on the Iranian people.”
“…School children have died. Where is so-called Western humanity?” he asked.
Owaisi warned that a rise in oil prices, even by one dollar, would have a major impact on the Indian economy.
He pointed out that hundreds of Indians, including those who traveled to perform Umrah, are stranded in Mecca and Medina due to the cancellation of flights. There are hundreds of people stranded at Dubai Airport and various other airports, be it Saudi Arabia or Oman.
He referred to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 based on “so-called weapons of mass destruction” and the civil wars in Libya and Syria, and said that “the world is seeing what is happening in Sudan now.”
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Pointing out that Iran is a huge country, he said that these measures would not succeed in bringing about regime change in that country.
“The Iranian people have been living under sanctions for 35 years. I don’t think that will happen,” he said.
Owaisi said that if there were attempts by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change the regime in Iran, it would not happen.
The AIMIM leader compared Israel’s attack on Iran with Pakistan’s actions in Afghanistan and described the two countries as forces of “aggression and mischief” in their regions.
The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, with US President Donald Trump calling on the Iranian people to take control of their destiny and rise up against the Islamist leadership that has ruled their country since 1979.
