New Delhi [India], March 9 (ANI): Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday visited the Iranian Cultural Centre and the Embassy of Iran in the national capital to offer condolences over the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei was killed on February 28 in the airstrikes launched by the US and Israel on Iran.

Mufti said she had come to express solidarity with the people of Iran and pay tribute to the leader while also raising the issue of Kashmiri students currently stranded in the country.

In a post on X, Mufti said, 'Visited the Iranian Cultural Centre & Embassy in Delhi to offer my deepest condolences to the people of Iran in these difficult times & paid my tributes to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on his martyrdom. Also took up the issue of Kashmiri students stranded in Iran with the Hon'ble Ambassador.'

https://x.com/MehboobaMufti/status/2030899854394958315

Speaking to reporters, Mufti said that she had come to convey sympathy to the Iranian people and stand in solidarity with them.

'We have come here to convey our condolences to the people of Iran on having lost their loved ones and also to pay tributes to the great Iranian supreme leader on his martyrdom and to assure the people of Iran that the Kashmiri people are with them. They stand in solidarity with the courageous and resilient people of Iran,' Mufti said.

She further said that prayers were being offered for Iran during the ongoing conflict.

'We are praying for their victory in this war against evil because Iran is fighting alone against the Epstein gang. Everybody who has been mentioned in the Epstein files is standing with Benjamin Netanyahu at this point in time. I am here to salute the people of Iran for their resilience and courage. I am here to salute the people of Iran for their resilience and courage,' she said.

Meanwhile, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also visited the embassy and signed the condolence book to pay tribute to Khamenei.

Naqvi said that he had offered his condolences to the Iranian leadership and reiterated India's traditional stance in favour of peace.

'We came here to pay tribute to Iran's Supreme Leader, Hazrat Ali Khamenei. We also met with the Iranian Ambassador. I offered my heartfelt tribute and condolences. India, the land of Buddha, has always been a supporter of peace,' he told the media.

He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently emphasised that conflicts must be resolved through dialogue and peaceful means.

'PM Narendra Modi has also consistently said that only the path of peace can solve any problem. War is not a solution. We pray that the nectar of peace emerges from this ocean of crisis as soon as possible,' Naqvi said.

Meanwhile, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, who is said to be more hardline than his father, has been announced as the Leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution following a decision by the country's Assembly of Experts after days of deliberation.

The announcement came late Sunday night (local time), marking a pivotal moment in the political and religious leadership of the Islamic Republic.

The clerical body responsible for appointing the country's supreme leader confirmed the decision in a formal statement, declaring: 'By a decisive vote, the Assembly of Experts elected Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the third Leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran.'

The development comes amid escalated tensions in West Asia, following the killing of the 86-year-old Khamenei along with several senior leaders of the Islamic Republic in the US-Israel strikes and subsequent retaliation by Iran, targeting American military bases and Israeli assets in multiple Arab countries across the region.

Israel, along with the US, also continued its strikes on Tehran, with Tel Aviv widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militant groups. (ANI)