Iran News: Congress Slams PM Modi As US-Israel Strike Tehran Days After His Tel Aviv Visit - 'Highest Moral Cowardice'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Congress party on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of displaying 'moral cowardice' during his recent visit to Israel amid escalating tensions in West Asia.

The Congress remarks came soon after Israel and the US carried out strikes targeting nuclear and military sites in Iran.

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PM Narendra Modi was in Israel for two days earlier this week, days before Israel and the United States began a joint military assault on Iran. Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said the latest development had been widely anticipated given the military build-up in the region over the past few months.

Ramesh said that despite clear signs of impending conflict, PM Modi“nevertheless chose to go to Israel,” where he publicly declared that India stood with Israel and accepted an award. The Congress leader described the visit as“shameful,” arguing that it sent the wrong diplomatic signal amid mounting regional instability.

'PM aligned himself too closely'

“Two days after Mr. Modi celebrated his visit to Israel, Israel and the US have begun their joint assault on Iran. This was fully expected given their military build-up in the last few months,” Ramesh said. He further alleged that the Prime Minister aligned himself too closely with leaders he described as his“good friends,” even as war broke out.

During his two-day visit to Israel on February 25-26, the Congress party hit out at PM Modi for his address to the Israeli Parliament, calling it an 'unabashed defence' of his host, Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel.

The opposition party also recalled India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and his July 1947 reply to physicist Albert Einstein regarding the creation of Israel.

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Modi arrived in Israel on 25 February for a two-day visit aimed at deepening ties with a key trade and defence partner, a trip that has drawn criticism at home from the opposition camp.

On his first day, Modi received a rousing welcome from Israeli lawmakers as he promised“friendship, respect and partnership” with Israel at a time when its world standing has suffered because of the war in Gaza.

US, Israel strike Iran

Addressing the Israeli Parliament, Knesset, Modi described the Gaza Peace Initiative as a path towards "just and durable peace" in the region. He also delivered a message of solidarity with Israel, asserting that“terrorism anywhere threatens peace everywhere”.

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The US and Israel launched an attack Saturday on Iran, with the first apparent strike happening near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, news agency AP reported. Iranian media reported strikes nationwide, and smoke could be seen rising from the capital, the report said.

This was fully expected given their military build-up in the last few months.

President Donald Trump also said in a video posted on social media that the US had begun“major combat operations in Iran.” Trump wanted a deal to constrain Iran's nuclear program, and he sees an opportunity while the country is struggling at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests, news agency AP said.

(With agency inputs)

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