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Members of the Shia Muslim community hold portraits of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a procession to commemorate him in Delhi, India, on March 10.

Photographer: Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

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By Sudhi Ranjan Sen

March 20, 2026 at 5:30 AM UTC

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Five days after the US and Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader, the top bureaucrat in India’s Foreign Ministry made his way to the Islamic Republic’s embassy on a tree-lined street in New Delhi.

Sitting next to a large photo of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 5, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signed a condolence book and expressed sympathies “on behalf of the people and the Government of India.” On the same day, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, their second since hostilities began.

India’s Condolences for Ayatollah Cleared Way for Deal on Hormuz - Bloomberg