'Not moral surrender': Shashi Tharoor responds to party colleague Mani Shankar Aiyar's dig over Iran stand

THe ripples of the US-Iran state of war feature reached India's oppositeness as ii senior leaders of the united states congress are trading barbs via open letters over a remark on Iran war. In a public display of discord over Shashi Tharoor's stand on the US-Iran war, senior leader Mani Shankar Aiyar wrote an open letter where he dubbed the former's opinions as “unprincipled, amoral, and transactional approach to public policy.” Track updates on Iran US warTharoor responded to Aiyar's open letter with another open letter, carried by NDTV, clarifying that he sees international affairs from a 'nationalist perspective, placing India's interests, security, and global standing at the heart of every discussion.'What Mani Shankar Aiyar saidAiyar wrote an open letter to Tharoor, published in the Frontline magazine, and said that he was “shocked to the core” by his answers on Iran-US war during a TV interview on March 6, 2026 as Aiyar termed the war as “illegal and sinful war on Iran by Israel in cahoots with the US and the West in general”. Follow updates on West Asia conflict“Your shameful espousal last night of “might is right” has horrified me. You say you fully understand the reason why Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is extremely wary of taking on the Americans: fear of the “consequences” that may result for India, particularly its economy,” Aiyar wrote.Also read: Dark mode on, how ship reached India dodging missiles in Strait of HormuzAiyar launched rather scathing attack on Tharoor and said, “There were many of your ilk when the nation was fighting for freedom. They were what V.S. Naipaul bitingly called “Jamshed into Jimmy”—collaborators of the regime. Of course, now that the imperialists are gone, you have emerged as an extremely knowledgeable critic of the excesses of Empire.”“Your performance at the Oxford Union was utterly brilliant, a polemic without peer. But the point is the Brits were gone before you went to Oxford, and so you found your voice. The Americans are not gone, so you cringe before them. This is what happens when “pragmatism” of the Jaishankar kind overtakes the moral spirit. And you twin with him,” Aiyar wrote.Also read: Legitimate rights, reparations, guarantees: Iran poses three conditions to end war with USIn another sharp attack, Aiyar wrote, “Are you really currying favour with Narendra Modi because he can give you the pelf that the opposition cannot bestow on you? I do not subscribe to that view, strong though the evidence is that this is why you exult in the pomp and show of your visits abroad as Chairman of the Standing Committee.”Shashi Tharoor's responseTharoor responded to Aiyar's open letter with another open letter saying that his approach to international affairs comes from a clear nationalist perspective with priority to India's interests, security, and global standing. "Recognising geopolitical realities and weighing consequences for India's economy and strategic position is not "moral surrender"; it is responsible statecraft," Tharoor wrote.Also read: Watch: First India-bound oil tanker crosses Strait of Hormuz, reaches Mumbai PortThe senior Congress leader shared the letter on his X profile and wrote, " My response to Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar on his public criticism of me for "moral amnesia" -- it is clear that others kinds of amnesia are also operating here!" Tharoor also made reference to Jawaharlal Nehru and said, “From Nehru's policy of non-alignment to today's complex multi-alignment in an increasingly multipolar world, the objective has remained constant: protect India's sovereignty while speaking for global justice.”He said that in one of his recent columns, he called out the Iran war for its “illegality”. “I explicitly described the illegality of the current war, pointed to its devastating consequences, and called for an immediate end to hostilities. It is unfortunate that you seem to have missed this clear statement of principle.""My point is simple: while the war violates the tenets we stand for, jeopardising the many other strategic interests we have with the US would be unwise,” he said.In response to Aiyar's “pomp and show of your visits abroad” jab, Tharoor said the allegations are ‘beneath contempt' and termed his allegation of pleasing the PM a ‘baseless slur’" Aside from Operation Sindoor, where I was part of and led an all-party delegation, all my foreign travels are undertaken in a personal capacity. They are neither requested, organised, nor financed by the government. I receive far more international invitations than I can possibly accept, none of which have anything to do with my position as Committee Chairman. (In our parliamentary system, official travel is undertaken by the Speaker, not by a Committee Chair.) To suggest I am "pleasing the PM" to secure travel is a baseless slur," Tharoor wrote, and added further, "Disagreement on the "how" of foreign policy is natural. But to misread principled pragmatism as a lack of conviction is a failure of assessment."Tharoor also took a dig at Aiyar saying, "One does not need to have been "carried in Mahatma Gandhi's arms" to admire his legacy."In his letter, Aiyar had mentioned how he and his brother were carried by Mahatma Gandhi in his arms and how his association with Gandhi influenced him. “My moral universe has always been drawn from what the Mahatma stood for. Out of clay, he made us men,” Aiyar wrote.