Russian Ambassador Invited to Iranian Foreign Ministry Over Controversial Photo, Embassy Says
08:52 GMT 12.08.2021 (Updated: 19:04 GMT 19.10.2022)
© Sputnik / Andrey Stenin
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Thursday invited the Russian Ambassador in Tehran Levan Dzhagaryan for a discussion over a recent photo that caused a public outcry in Iran, the Russian embassy said.
"Today ... Dzhagaryan was invited to the Iranian Foreign Ministry regarding the controversial reaction of the Iranian public to the photo published jointly with the UK Ambassador in Tehran Simon Shercliff," the embassy said in a statement, obtained by Sputnik.
The Russian diplomatic mission added that the discussion was "held in a friendly manner" and the Iranian side received "all necessary explanations" regarding the photo.
"The ambassador expressed regret for the misunderstanding," the embassy added.
🇷🇺Ambassador Levan Dzhagaryan's meeting with the new head of the 🇬🇧British diplomatic mission in Iran Simon Shercliff on the historical stair, where the 1943 Tehran conference was held pic.twitter.com/1JyC9VWVpi
— Russian Embassy, IRI (@RusEmbIran) August 11, 2021
Dzhagaryan recently met with UK ambassador to Iran Simon Shercliff in a place where the 1943 Tehran Conference took place, and the photo of the diplomats after a meeting was criticized in Iran as the conference is associated with the presence of foreign forces in the country. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and other politicians have condemned the photo.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed a photo depicting the Russian and UK ambassadors as inappropriate for its resemblance to the historic 1943 Tehran Conference, during which the Soviet, UK and US leaders discussed the architecture of the post-war international relations.
"I saw an extremely inappropriate picture today. Need I remind all that Aug. 2021 is neither Aug. 1941 nor Dec. 1943. The Iranian people have shown—including during the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] talks—that their destiny can NEVER be subject to decisions in foreign embassies or by foreign powers," Zarif wrote on Twitter.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf threatened to respond with a "decisive diplomatic move" unless the ambassadors of Russia and the UK apologize for the photo.
The Russian Embassy said the picture had no anti-Iranian context and was not intended to offend the Iranian people.
"The only meaning that this photo has [is] to pay tribute to the joint efforts of the allied states against Nazism during the Second World War. Iran is our friend and neighbor, and we will continue to strengthen relations based on mutual respect," the embassy wrote on Twitter.
