Explained: This article explains the political background, key decisions, and possible outcomes related to Explained : ‘Particularly Ill-Timed’: Congress, CPI(M) Decry Modi’s Visit to Israel Ahead of Iran Attack and Its Impact and why it matters right now.
The Congress has warned that any perceived partisan alignment risks compromising India’s carefully calibrated position, with “grave strategic consequences.”
New Delhi: Describing the timing as particularly sensitive given the outbreak of hostilities in West Asia and the launch of attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel, the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] have issued separate statements criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Israel on February 25-26, 2026.
In a detailed statement, the Congress reiterated that India’s foreign policy is anchored in the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (“the world is one family”), Mahatma Gandhi’s doctrine of ahimsa (non-violence), Jawaharlal Nehru’s policy of non-alignment, and Article 51 of the Indian Constitution, which directs the state to “respect for international law and treaty obligations”. The statement also invokes the United Nations Charter, the Geneva Conventions, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Paris Agreement.
Statement on Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Israel and attack on Iran, by the Foreign Affairs Department, @INCIndia. pic.twitter.com/dWLs6wvSc0
— Salman Khurshid (@salman7khurshid) February 28, 2026
The party recalled India’s consistent record of constructive international engagement, including its stand of opposing apartheid in South Africa, serving on the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission during the Korean War, supporting anti-colonial movements across Asia and Africa, providing leadership to the Global South through the Non-Aligned Movement, and “contributions” made to the United Nations peacekeeping and humanitarian operations.
The Congress statement reads: “(It is) firmly committed to peaceful coexistence, stability and shared prosperity in West Asia, as indeed the world.”
The Congress stated that it is deeply concerned that the prime minister’s visit, occurring “at a moment of heightened tensions, a breakout of hostilities and the palpable risk of wider conflict,” creates “the perception of a political endorsement of military escalation.”
Such a perception, the statement further added, is “deeply antithetical” to India’s historic commitment to a rules-based international order and the UN Charter, specifically Article 2(4), which prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, and Article 2(3), which calls for the peaceful settlement of disputes.
The statement further noted that the visit is “particularly ill-timed” as it risks conveying alignment with an incumbent government “on the eve of national elections” in Israel. The Congress has drawn a parallel with the 2019 “Howdy Modi” event in Houston, which was widely seen as blurring the line between state diplomacy and partisan political signalling during the US electoral cycle. “Relationships are between nations, not between individual leaders or ideologically aligned political parties,” the Congress emphasised.
The Congress warned that any perceived partisan alignment risks compromising India’s carefully calibrated position, with “grave strategic consequences.” It reminded the government that India maintains civilisational, economic, energy, geopolitical and diasporic ties not only with Israel but equally with Iran, Palestine and the wider region. The party added that any perceived sanction of actions undermining the sovereignty of multiple nations could “weaken India’s own consistent position on Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.”
While affirming that the Congress “values and seeks to deepen India’s partnership with Israel, as it does with Iran, Palestine and other nations in West Asia,” the party stressed that such engagement “must be carefully balanced against diplomatic considerations and pursued with prudence,” particularly when “perceptions arise that core civilisational and constitutional principles, along with commitment to the rules-based order, are being compromised”.
In a separate statement, the politbureau of the CPI(M) “strongly condemned the attacks on Iran launched by the US and Israel,” describing them as being carried out “in flagrant violation of Iran’s national sovereignty, the UN Charter and all international treaties.” The party noted that the strikes occurred while negotiations with Iran were ongoing and cited statements by U.S. President Donald Trump as evidence that the talks were not taken seriously. It accused the United States of acting as “a belligerent bully, attacking sovereign countries at will,” pointing to its “recent attack on Venezuela and threats issued to Cuba.”
CPI(M) Polit Bureau strongly condemns the attacks on #Iran launched by the US and #Israel. pic.twitter.com/WAgXISZIFd
— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) February 28, 2026
Highlighting the sequence of events, the CPI(M) statement notes, “The attack on Iran comes immediately after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his visit to Israel.” It called upon the government of India to “unequivocally condemn the attacks on its friendly country Iran and demand the immediate cessation of hostilities.”
This article went live on February twenty-eighth, two thousand twenty six, at fifty minutes past four in the afternoon.
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