Shia community members stage pro-Iran rally in Pune

Members of the Shia community in the city on Friday staged a protest to express solidarity with Iran in its conflict with the US which killed a top military commander of the West Asian country last week. A delegation of the Shia community also submitted a memorandum to District Collector Naval Kishor Ram, demanding the Indian government's intervention in the US-Iran conflict.

The protesters gathered at Imam Wada in the Camp area in the heart of the city and voiced support for Iran which is engaged in a tense stand-off with the US in the volatile Gulf region. They expressed grief at the killing of Iran's most powerful military commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike at the Baghdad airport on January 3.

Iran, an oil and gas-rich country that shares close ties with India, had been facing punitive sanctions from the US over the nuclear program of the Shia majority country. The US drone strike, ordered by President Donald Trump, brought the entire Gulf region closer to a full-blown conflict. Regional tensions remain high after Iran on Wednesday fired missiles at two bases in Iraq used by US forces in retaliation for the killing of Soleimani.

The protest was organized by a local organization of the community, 'Shia Brothers of Pune', and supported by some Muslim and Left outfits, including Mulnivasi Muslim Manch, Lokayat and Bhim Army, among others. Soleimani had played a key role in the development of Chabahar port with India's financial support, a Shia community representative said.