Emergency and Rescue soldiers search for trapped people inside heavily damaged buildings after an overnight missiles strike from Iran on June 15, 2025 in Bat Yam, Israel. Iran launched a retaliatory missile strike on Israel starting late on June 13, after a series of Israeli airstrikes earlier in the day targeted Iranian military and nuclear sites, as well as top military officials.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
The Congress on Sunday (June 15, 2025) unequivocally condemned Israel’s recent “bombings and targeted assassinations” on Iranian soil and said this attack on Iran’s sovereignty and encroachment of its rights only deepens instability as well as sows the seeds of further conflict.
The opposition party asserted that India must speak clearly, act responsibly, and use every diplomatic channel available to defuse tensions and promote a return to dialogue.
“The Indian National Congress unequivocally condemns Israel’s recent bombings and targeted assassinations on Iranian soil, which represent a dangerous escalation with grave regional and global consequences,” Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
“This attack on Iran’s sovereignty and encroachment of its rights, whether through aerial strikes or covert killings, only deepens instability and sows the seeds of further conflict,” he said.
The Congress party firmly believes that diplomacy, dialogue, and international cooperation, and not violence, are the only legitimate and sustainable path forward, Mr. Ramesh said.
“Hostilities must cease immediately. Continued military brinkmanship risks plunging an already fragile region into wider war, with catastrophic human and economic fallout,” the Congress leader said.
Ramesh pointed out that India has long-standing civilisational ties with Iran and, in recent decades, has developed strategic relations with Israel.
This unique position gives our country the moral responsibility and the diplomatic leverage to act as a bridge for de-escalation and peace, he said.
“With lakhs of Indian citizens living and working across West Asia, peace in the region is a vital national interest apart from being a geopolitical concern. India must speak clearly, act responsibly, and use every diplomatic channel available to defuse tensions and promote a return to dialogue,” Ramesh said.
His remarks come a day after the Congress criticised the government for not participating in the discussions on the SCO statement against Israel and asked if it had been reduced to being an “abject apologist for Israel”.
The statement by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) dated June 14 “strongly condemned the military strikes carried out by Israel on the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran on June 13”.
On Friday, India had urged both countries to avoid any escalatory steps and said it was “deeply concerned” at the recent developments. After the SCO statement, India had asserted that its position on the Israel-Iran situation remains as stated earlier and urged the international community to utilise channels of dialogue and diplomacy towards de-escalation.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India had communicated its position to other SCO members and did not participate in the discussions on the statement.
Israel on Friday had launched Operation Rising Lion to strike at Iran’s nuclear, missile and military complex. The strikes left key military commanders and nuclear scientists dead. Iran retaliated by launching waves of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.
Published – June 15, 2025 06:46 pm IST
