On Prophet Row, Iran Deletes, Then Doubles Down On Ajit Doval Quote

After the Iran Foreign Ministry took down a statement on its Foreign Minister's claims on discussions in Delhi on the Prophet comments row, an Iran government website has put up a similar statement quoting National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval as saying action against the BJP leaders who made the controversial comments on Prophet Muhammad would be a "lesson for others".

The new statement, describing a meeting between Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Ajit Doval, quoted the NSA as "reiterating the respect of the Indian government and officials for the Holy Prophet, saying that it will be treated as a lesson for others".

It said Mr Doval "stressed the need for comprehensive expansion of relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and India" and "expressed the Indian Government readiness to develop relations at all levels in bilateral, multilateral, regional and international dimensions".

On Thursday, Iran's Foreign Ministry website had pulled down a readout that claimed that its Foreign Minister had been told by Mr Doval that those who made the controversial remarks against the Prophet "would be taught a lesson".

Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian is the first big visitor from Iran days after the country joined Kuwait, Qatar and other Gulf nations in condemning the Prophet comments.  

"Pleased to meet PM Modi, FM Jaishankar and other Indian officials to advance our bilateral strategic dialogue. Tehran & New Delhi agree on the need to respect divine religions & Islamic sanctities & to avoid divisive statements. determined to bring relations to new heights," the minister tweeted after the meeting.

The government did not comment on Iran's claim on Mr Doval's comments.

The External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stressed that the Prophet remarks was never raised in discussions with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. "We have made it pretty clear the tweets and comments do not convey the views of the government. This has been conveyed to our interlocutors as also the fact that action has been taken by the concerned quarters against those who made the comments and tweets. I really do not have anything additional to say on this," the official said.

Asked about the Iran statement on Mr Doval, the spokesperson said: "My understanding is that what you are referring to in a readout has been pulled down."

News agency PTI had quoted the earlier Iranian readout as saying Mr Abdollahian raised the issue of the "negative atmosphere" triggered by "disrespectful" comments on the Prophet and that the Indian side reiterated the Indian government's respect for the founder of Islam. 

The readout also quoted the Iranian foreign minister as saying, "Muslims are satisfied with the stance of Indian officials in dealing with the culprits." 

The Iran Foreign Ministry later put up a statement on its Minister meeting Muslim clerics in Delhi and said he raised "insults against the holy prophet of Islam and expressed deep regret about the upsetting incident". The statement stressed that the Iran Minister had raised the subject strongly at different meetings.

While meeting the clerics, Mr Abdollahian, said the statement, "condemned insult against the great prophet of Islam, saying India has been a land of compassion and tolerance and is always a refuge and a front for different viewpoints. Therefore, he said, such raucous clamor neither suits India nor is rooted in India, and surely followers of all religions in the Indian territory oppose such comments. This, he said, was a point conversed about clearly, and in different manners, by Indian officials during this visit".

The BJP on Sunday suspended Nupur Sharma, its national spokesperson, and expelled the party's Delhi unit media head Naveen Jindal, over their comments on the Prophet.

Several countries, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia, Jordan, Bahrain, Maldives, Malaysia, Oman, Iraq and Libya, denounced the comments and many summoned Indian envoys to express their condemnation.