Khamenei's Death: Tracing India's Deep Historical Links to Iran, From Kashmir to UP

• Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, was killed in a US-Israel airstrike on February 28, triggering mourning and highlighting India-Iran ties.
• Demonstrations and prayer meetings were held in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk, other Valley districts, and cities like Lucknow by the Shia community.
• Kashmir has deep historical links to Iran, often called “Iran-e-Sagheer” (Little Iran) due to shared art, architecture, language, and Islamic scholarship since the 14th century.
• Khamenei visited Kashmir and Karnataka in the early 1980s, addressing worshippers and emphasizing unity.
• Iran’s revolutionary leadership has ancestral links to Kintoor, Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, through Syed Ahmad Musavi, grandfather of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.