Iranian Foreign Ministry Summons Taliban's Chargé d'affaires Over Anthem Disrespect

Following the Taliban's disrespect for the national anthem of the Islamic Republic, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Fazl Mohammad Haqqani, the group's chargé d'affaires in Tehran.

Officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have called the failure of the Taliban representative to stand up in honour of the national anthem as an "unconventional and unacceptable act”.

Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported that the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Second South Asia Department summoned the Taliban's chargé d'affaires at the Afghan embassy in Tehran on Friday morning.
The agency called the Taliban's action "contrary to diplomatic norms”.

Azizur Rahman Mansour, the deputy of the Ministry of Guidance, Hajj and Religious Affairs, who headed a delegation to Tehran, did not stand up during the 38th International Islamic Unity Conference when the national anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran was played. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was also present at the ceremony.

Following widespread criticism of the move, Azizur Rahman Mansour on Friday in a video justifying not standing up in honour of the Iranian national anthem, claimed that it is not customary in Afghanistan to stand in honour of the national anthem.

These statements come at a time when in many cultures, including the culture of Afghanistan, standing during the playing of the national anthem is recognized as a sign of respect for the people and national symbols of that country.
Hassan Kazemi Qomi, the Iranian president's special representative for Afghanistan affairs, in a response, called the behaviour of the Taliban representative disrespectful to diplomatic principles. He stated, "Lack of respect for diplomatic principles under the pretext of banning music from the principles of Sharia has no meaning."

Abbas Mousavi, Iran's former ambassador to Azerbaijan, also reacted to the Taliban's disrespect for the national anthems of Iran and Pakistan, saying that they did not observe diplomatic decency. He suggested that "it would be best to suspend inviting them to any official events until their procedures were modified”.

Recently, the Taliban's consul general in the city of Peshawar behaved similarly when the Pakistani national anthem was played during an official ceremony and did not get up.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the Taliban's move, saying, "We will convey our strong protest to the Afghan authorities in Islamabad and Kabul."

The Taliban's consul general in Peshawar said that he did not get up because of the playing of music in Pakistan's national anthem, adding, "There was no intention to disrespect or humiliate the national anthem of Pakistan."