Upset over anti-hijab protest clip, Iran’s foreign minister cancels Delhi visit

India and Iran have shared diplomatic ties for long and there have been several ups and downs. The two countries share similar concerns over the Taliban controlled Afghanistan

The foreign minister of Iran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has cancelled his scheduled visit to India allegedly upset over anti-hijab protest visuals in Iran shown in a promotional video of an event.

Abdollahian was to due to travel to India and attend the Raisina dialogue scheduled for March 3 and 4. The event is hosted every year by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and Ministry of External Affairs.

The organisers had last month released a promo for the event. Two minutes into the promotional video, a two second photo of Iranian ladies protesting by cutting her hair was shown. There was a picture of Iranian president Sayyid Ibrahim Raisolsadati, commonly known as Ebraham Raisi displayed too.

Following this the Iranian embassy contacted both ORF and the MEA to express their displeasure with the footage. They also requested that the same be removed. The organisers however refused to comply.

Upset over the development, the Iranian government notified the event organisers that the foreign minister will not be able to attend the Raisina Dialogue.

Iran was rocked by protests in September 2022 after Mahsa Amani, a 22-year old woman died in police custody. Mini was detained by the moral police on the allegation that she had disregarded Iran's rigorous clothing rules by improperly donning the head scarf. The protests however died down after the state used excessive force to curb the same. Thousands were arrested, many including minors were killed.

New Delhi has been silent about the protests since they started. In November 2022, India voted against a resolution that the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed to establish a fact-finding mission into the suspected atrocities by the state.

In the ORF video, Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be heard saying, 'this is not an era of war,' while referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Samarkand conference. The video also includes President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky and India's External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar.

The ties between India and Iran have seen many ups and downs. India had stopped oil imports from Iran following sanctions by the Trump administration. Both countries however share concerns on the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. India has also been working on the Chabahar Port that enables connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

The last time Abdollahian had visited India was in June last year. Following meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, NSA Ajit Doval and S Jaishankar, Abdollahian had said that the two countries agreed on the need to 'respect divvine. Religions,' Islamic sanctities and avoid divisive statements. His visit came just days after the controversial remarks by suspended BJP spokesperson, Nupur Sharma.