AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday voiced serious concerns over the escalating military conflict in West Asia, warning that a full-scale war would endanger over 16 million Indians living in the Gulf region and harm India’s economic and strategic interests.
Speaking to media, Owaisi compared the latest US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities to the infamous US-led invasion of Iraq, calling the threat of Iranian nuclear weapons a “boogie” used to justify aggression.
“We must also remember that more than 16 million Indians live in the Gulf and Middle East, and if that area erupts in a war, which unfortunately is very likely, then it will have a grave impact on the Indians living there,” Owaisi cautioned.
He added that India’s economic stakes were also at risk. “The investments which Indian companies have made in all these Arab countries or Gulf countries, and a substantial amount of foreign investment comes from this area, will be affected if this conflict spreads further,” he said.
The AIMIM chief strongly questioned the US justification for its strikes. “This boogie has been created about Iran having nuclear weapons, or this and that, the same thing was used in Iraq — Weapons of Mass Destruction. Nothing, nothing came out,” Owaisi pointed out.
Earlier on Sunday, the United States and Israel launched heavy strikes on Iran’s critical nuclear sites at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow. Fordow is Iran’s primary underground uranium enrichment facility, enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity.
Defence expert Sanjeev Srivastava termed the strikes a “major escalation,” warning of devastating impacts on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. “The deep underground nuclear facilities of Iran were hard hit in this attack,” he said, adding that successive US administrations have consistently opposed Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi lashed out at US-Israel coordination in the strikes. “America voted for President Trump but got Netanyahu as their boss,” she commented sarcastically.
In another post on X, Chaturvedi slammed the strikes as a violation of Iran’s sovereignty, recalling the Iraq WMD debacle. “The world has seen this play out before — citing WMDs in Iraq and bombing away the country as well as destabilising it forever,” she wrote.
Chaturvedi also questioned the effectiveness of the United Nations, asking whether it remains relevant. “Someone remind us of the purpose of United Nations post World War 2? Is it still functional or has become a body controlled by big bullies with money and guns?”
Meanwhile, tensions escalated as the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched fresh airstrikes on western Iran in retaliation to Iranian missile attacks that injured Israeli civilians. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have destroyed missile launchers and eliminated Iranian soldiers involved in the earlier strikes on Israel.
The conflict shows no signs of de-escalating, as regional powers brace for further military actions with potential global ramifications.