Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called out western powers’ “veil of morality” over US President Donald Trump’s “end of civilisation” threat against Iran, hailing the will and determination of Iranians who formed human chains around key power plants before the two-week ceasefire deal was announced.
The debutante Congress MP’s stand stood out because India has been conspicuously silent on the Iran war, which began right after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned from Israel.
Without directly naming any leader, Priyanka slammed the “despicable language” being used amid the Iran conflict. “The world is watching and understanding as the veil of morality falls from across the face of the West,” she wrote in a post on X.
“Hatred, anger, violence and injustice never win. Courage always wins,” she added.
Washington and Tehran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire, with Trump pulling back from threats of devastating strikes on Iran late Tuesday—less than two hours before the deadline he had set for Tehran to capitulate or face a major escalation.
Rahul Gandhi echoed a similar stance, saying the use of nuclear weapons can “never be justified”.
“Wars are tragic. Yet, they remain a reality. Any language or action that contemplates the end of civilisation is unacceptable in the modern world,” he posted on X on Tuesday night.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav termed Trump’s “end of civilisation” remarks “very concerning”. After the ceasefire announcement, he said, “Talking about a civilization dying ‘tonight’ and then shifting to possible positive change shows poor judgment.”
The SP chief also rebuked Trump as a “child killer who, in his hunger for power, attacked homes and took the lives of innocent children.”
Yadav hailed the courage of Iranians and dismissed the West’s moral standing on the war.
“As the mask of Western goodness falls away, the truth is clear to all. The clamour of injustice is loud, but your unity is far stronger than that. In this fight for dignity and honour, we stand with Iran . Your unwavering courage will defeat this injustice. Salute to Iran's bravery,” he said.
Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra also expressed solidarity with Iran for teaching the world what “courage & having a spine is all about.” She went a step further to suggest that the current Indian leadership should learn how to deal with “bullies” strongly.
“India should announce our own ceasefires, our own trade deals & our own energy policies”, Mahua said in a post on X.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah questioned the outcome of the US-Iran ceasefire, asking what Donal Trump achieved after nearly 40 days of conflict.
Reacting to media reports of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as part of the truce, Abdullah remarked that the passage was already "open and freely available" before the war began.
"So the ceasefire allows a strait to reopen, a strait that was open and freely available to everyone to use before the war started. What exactly did this 39-day war achieve for the US?" the chief minister said in a post on X with the hashtag "UnjustWar".
Pakistan's role in US-Iran ceasefire
Taking a swipe at the government, the Congress said the role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire between the US and Iran is a "severe setback" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "highly personalised diplomacy" and "the self-styled Vishwaguru stands thoroughly exposed".
The party also said PM Modi's "cowardice is demonstrated by his silence not only on Israel's belligerence, but on the completely unacceptable and disgraceful language being used by his good friend in the White House".
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the entire world will cautiously welcome the two-week ceasefire in the West Asia conflict between the US and Israel on the one side and Iran on the other.
"The conflict had begun on February 28th with the targeted assassinations of the topmost echelons of the regime in Iran. These had started just two days after Prime Minister Modi had completed his much-trumpeted visit to Israel, a visit that diminished India's global stature and standing," Ramesh claimed.
PM Modi had said nothing about Israel's "genocide" in Gaza and its aggressively expansionist policies in the occupied West Bank, Ramesh said.
"The role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire is a severe setback to both the substance and style of Mr Modi's highly personalised diplomacy," he said.
The policy to isolate Pakistan for its continuing support to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and to convince the world that it is a failed state has clearly not succeeded – unlike what Manmohan Singh had accomplished after the Mumbai terror attacks, Ramesh claimed.
That a bankrupt economy dependent entirely on the largesse of external donors and a broken country in so many ways was able to play such a role calls into question Modi's strategy of engagement and narrative management, he said.
"He (Modi) or his team has also never explained why Op Sindoor was suddenly and abruptly halted on May 10th 2025 - the first announcement of which came from the US Secretary of State and for which the US President has claimed credit almost a hundred times since then," the Congress leader said.
"There is a palpable sigh of relief everywhere. The External Affairs Minister (S Jaishankar) dismissed Pakistan as a dalal. But now the self-styled Vishwaguru stands thoroughly exposed, his self-declared 56-inch chest shrunk and shrivelled," Ramesh said.
"His cowardice is demonstrated by his silence not only on Israel's belligerence, but on the completely unacceptable and disgraceful language being used by his good friend in the White House," the Congress leader added.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, had criticised what they called the Modi government’s foreign policy shift, claiming the prime minister compromised India’s stance in favour of US-Israeli interests amid the Iran war.
The party had condemned the targeted assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei, by US-Israeli forces, and pressed the Centre to break its silence over the incident formally.
Foreign secretary Vikram Misri visited the Iranian embassy in New Delhi six days after the Iranian supreme leader’s death to sign the condolence book.
