Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic death" of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
"My sincere condolences to his family and the people of Iran. India is with Iran at this time of grief," Modi wrote on the X social network.
India and Iran have historically had close relations. For many years, the Islamic Republic has been a key oil supplier to the South Asian giant, which is currently the world's fifth-largest economy. These supplies were halted after the US imposed sanctions on Iran.
Last week, Iran and India signed a contract to develop and equip the long-stalled Chabahar port in an agreement that will give New Delhi 10 years of access to the facility.
In response, Washington warned that the companies involved in the deal risked being sanctioned.
India's foreign minister S. Jaishankar also wrote in X that he was "deeply shocked to hear of the demise" of Raisi and his colleague Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
"We offer our condolences to their families. We are with the people of Iran at this time of tragedy," he wrote. /BGNES
