Ali Chegeni was told that the incidents in Delhi were ‘internal matters’ of India, according to an official source

India on Tuesday morning summoned the Iranian ambassador and lodged a strong protest after Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif condemned the killing of Muslims in last week’s riots in Delhi.

An official source said that ambassador of Iran Ali Chegeni was told that the incidents in Delhi were “internal matters” of India.

Full coverage | Delhi violence 2020

The development came hours after Mr. Zarif issued a scathing statement condemning the Delhi killings in which he urged India to look after all Indian citizens irrespective of religious differences and asked the government of India to stop “thuggery”.

“Iran condemns the wave of organised violence against Indian Muslims. Path forward lies in peaceful dialogue and rule of law,” said the Iranian Minister in a social media post.

His strong comments came days after India fast tracked work for the Chabahar project of Iran even as both sides are struggling to exchange thousands of citizens who are stranded on both sides after India cancelled Iranian flights and visas that were issued to Iranian nationals from February 1 because of COVID-19 outbreak.