Coronavirus-hit Iran seeks India's help in fighting the outbreak
New Delhi/IBNS: Days after Iran threatened to isolate India in the Islamic world over the violence in Delhi, the country's President Hassan Rouhani wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking help to fight coronavirus epidemic which has so far infected 12,729 people and killed 611 people in Iran.
The Iranian President in his letter to the Prime Minister emphasised on bolstering joint and coordinated regional and international measures, adopting serious strategies, and sustaining huge medical care cost, said an India Today report.
Rouhani has written to several countries, including India, for help in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak which has taken a massive toll on Iran after China and Italy.
The Iranian president has also pointed out in the letter how US sanctions have hit its fight against coronavirus.
On March 5, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had asked India to confront the extremist Hindus and stop the massacre of Muslims, in a one sided narrative of the communal violence that hit the northeast Delhi in the last week of February.
"The hearts of Muslims all over the world are grieving over the massacre of Muslims in India. The govt of India should confront extremist Hindus & their parties & stop the massacre of Muslims in order to prevent India’s isolation from the world of Islam," Khamenei said in a tweet.
The hearts of Muslims all over the world are grieving over the massacre of Muslims in India. The govt of India should confront extremist Hindus & their parties & stop the massacre of Muslims in order to prevent India’s isolation from the world of Islam.#IndianMuslimslnDanger
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) March 5, 2020
Two days before Khamenei's tweet, Foreign Minister of Iran Javad Zarif had condemend the Delhi riots terming the violence "wave of organised violence against Indian Muslims".
A day after, New Delhi had summoned ambassador of Iran Ali Chegeni and conveyed India's displeasure over Zarif's "selective and tendentious" characterisation of incidents in Delhi.
Iran's reaction on Delhi riots had come as a surprise since India and Iran had shared friendly relations and India had continued to purchase oil from Iran despite US sanctions on it.
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