Famous Indian TV host and former army officer Gaurav Arya sparked a brief diplomatic stir between Tehran and New Delhi and drew widespread reactions on social media after calling Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi a “son of a pig” on air.
Arya was criticizing Araghchi for visiting Pakistan before traveling to India for talks aimed at deescalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, following the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
The clip quickly circulated online, prompting a public response from the Iranian embassy in New Delhi. In a statement, the embassy said: "Respect for guests is a long-standing tradition in Iranian culture. We Iranians consider our guests 'beloved of God. What about you?"
Following the Iranian reaction, the Indian embassy in Tehran issued its own clarification, writing: "The Embassy of India in Iran wishes to clarify that the person in this video is a private Indian citizen."
"His comments do not reflect the official position of the Indian government, which finds the disrespectful language used in the video inappropriate," the Indian embassy added.
Major Gaurav Arya is a very popular Indian personality with nearly two million followers on X including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His program "Chankaya Dialogue" also has over four million subscribers on YouTube.
