Iran foreign minister cancels India visit following a protest video
text_fields
New Delhi: Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has withdrawn from attending an event organized by India’s Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation next month.
Iran told the organisers of the Raisina Dialogue that the minister will not attend the event, The Indian Express reported.
The minister cancelled the visit after the promotional video for the Raisina Dialogue showed Iranian women cutting their hair during the anti-government protests.
The promotional video came out a month ago for the 2023 edition of the Dialogues.
It carried the image of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi alongside the protesting women, which reportedly upset the Iranian authorities.
When the video came to its notice, the Iranian Embassy reached out to organisers objecting to present the President’s image alongside protesters, the report said.
Iran reportedly asked the organisers to delete the part showing president alongside protesters, which did not happen upsetting them.
Iran witnessed months-long protest after a young woman Mahsa Amini died in custody of the country’s morality police after arrested on charges of ‘inappropriate attire’.
Iran tried to suppress the popular uprising that saw thousands women braving the police and cutting their hair in public, taking of their veils.
Alongside being silent about the protests, India abstained from a resolution adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council seeking to set up a fact-finding mission to study alleged human right violations in Iran.