India's Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi issued a stark warning against the use of nuclear weapons, and even rhetoric to that effect, as the United States military conflict with Iran entered a dangerous new phase.
Gandhi stated that any language or action contemplating the end of civilization is unacceptable in the modern world and that the use of nuclear weapons can never be justified under any circumstances.
The statement came hours after President Donald Trump made one of his most alarming pronouncements yet in the ongoing US-Iran conflict, declaring that 'a whole civilization will die tonight' and setting an 8 p.m. ET Tuesday deadline for Tehran to reopen the Persian Gulf waterway or face strikes on civilian infrastructure.
Tehran has asserted for years that its nuclear programme is for power generation, not for bombs, while Trump has rejected that and broken earlier US pacts with Iran.
The Narendra Modi government has maintained a studied 'strategic autonomy' that critics have called inadequate and 'immoral', with India urging all parties to exercise restraint and advocating the pursuit of 'dialogue and diplomacy'.
