Abdollahian’s Violation of Protocol at Baghdad Conference Sparks Controversy in Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian (second right) seen in the front row designated for heads of states and governments during the Baghdad summit family photo (AFP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian (second right) seen in the front row designated for heads of states and governments during the Baghdad summit family photo (AFP)
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Abdollahian’s Violation of Protocol at Baghdad Conference Sparks Controversy in Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian (second right) seen in the front row designated for heads of states and governments during the Baghdad summit family photo (AFP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian (second right) seen in the front row designated for heads of states and governments during the Baghdad summit family photo (AFP)

Iranian newspapers criticized new Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, for violating diplomatic protocol at Saturday’s Baghdad conference in his first foreign appearance after taking office.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh was forced to answer press questions about the controversy raised by Abdollahian’s violation of the diplomatic protocol.

“It was a successful visit,” he said, warning against focusing on “marginal issues not in the field of foreign policy.”

Abdollahian sparked widespread controversy when he stood in the front row designated for heads of states and governments during the summit family photo.

Former director-general of the Middle East Department at the Foreign Ministry, Qassem Mohebali, criticized the FM for not respecting protocols.

The former diplomat wrote an editorial for Jahane Sanat newspaper, titled “The Consequences of Not Respecting (Diplomatic) Protocols,” saying the conference was a “missed opportunity.”

Mohebali noted that it was a chance for Iran to stand by the Saudi delegations and improve foreign relations.

He said respecting protocols at diplomatic events is very important, adding that honoring procedures shows familiarity with international affairs and respect for the host country.

He warned that an official’s lack of understanding of the occasion leads to unfamiliar behavior, which can have negative consequences.

In turn, the reformist Etemad newspaper strongly criticized the FM’s lack of respect for diplomatic protocol and said that the mistake made by the events director at the Foreign Ministry was unfortunate and unforgivable.

The newspaper wondered if Abdollahian is aware that the host country arranges where a guest must stand or sit at official occasions and ceremonies.

“If he does not know, what is the role of the events director during the conference?” it asked, adding that if Abdollahian did not want to stand or sit next to officials from certain countries, he should have informed the conference’s managers.

The FM returned to Tehran on Monday, after a brief visit to Damascus, where he met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and leaders of Palestinian factions.

Iranian media interpreted the visit as Iran’s protest against Syria’s absence from the conference.

Moreover, Abdollahian was criticized for his “poorly” written Arabic language speech at the summit.

Former deputy speaker, Ali Motahari, welcomed the Arabic speech, but regretted that an Arabic language teacher did not review it to mark the parsing accurately.



The Scale of Afghans Returning from Iran is Overwhelming, Says UN Official

Afghan refugees who returned after fleeing Iran to escape deportation and conflict arrive at a UNHCR facility near the Islam Qala crossing in western Herat province, Afghanistan, on Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)
Afghan refugees who returned after fleeing Iran to escape deportation and conflict arrive at a UNHCR facility near the Islam Qala crossing in western Herat province, Afghanistan, on Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)
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The Scale of Afghans Returning from Iran is Overwhelming, Says UN Official

Afghan refugees who returned after fleeing Iran to escape deportation and conflict arrive at a UNHCR facility near the Islam Qala crossing in western Herat province, Afghanistan, on Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)
Afghan refugees who returned after fleeing Iran to escape deportation and conflict arrive at a UNHCR facility near the Islam Qala crossing in western Herat province, Afghanistan, on Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)

The pace and scale of Afghans returning from Iran are overwhelming already fragile support systems, a senior UN official warned Tuesday, with tens of thousands of people crossing the border daily exhausted and traumatized, relying on humanitarian aid.

So far this year, more than 1.4 million people have returned or been forced to return to Afghanistan, including over 1 million from Iran.

Iran and Pakistan in 2023 launched separate campaigns to expel foreigners they said were living in the country illegally. They set deadlines and threatened them with deportation if they didn’t leave. The two governments deny targeting Afghans, who have fled their homeland over the decades to escape war, poverty or Taliban rule, The AP news reported.

The UN special representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, called for immediate international support for Afghanistan following a visit to the Islam Qala border crossing in western Herat province near Iran.

The “sheer volume of returns —many abrupt, many involuntary,” should be setting off alarm bells across the global community, Otunbayeva said.

“Without swift interventions, remittance losses, labor market pressures and cyclical migration will lead to devastating consequences such as the further destabilization of both returnee and host populations, renewed displacement, mass onward movement, and risks to regional stability,” she said.

Returns from Iran peaked in June following a 20 March government deadline requiring all “undocumented” Afghans to leave. The UN migration agency recorded more than 28,000 people crossing back into Afghanistan on June 25.

Afghanistan is a ‘forgotten crisis’ Most Afghans depend on humanitarian assistance to survive. But deep funding cuts are worsening the situation, with aid agencies and nongovernmental organizations forced to cut education and health care programs.

Nicole van Batenburg, from the International Federation of the Red Cross, said Afghan children returning from Iran are developing scabies, fever and other illnesses because of deteriorating conditions at the border and the hot weather. Her colleagues were reuniting hundreds of children daily who got separated from their parents.

People lost their belongings and documents in the chaos of hasty exits. Most were only able to take a few suitcases with them, and some were now using their luggage as makeshift furniture.

“Afghanistan is an unseen crisis, and there are so many crises going on at this moment in the world that it seems to be forgotten,” van Batenburg told The Associated Press by phone from the border.

“The problems and the challenges are immense. We’re only talking about the situation here at the border, but these people have to return to some areas where they can live longer and where they can rebuild their lives.”

Last week, the Norwegian Refugee Council said many of its staff were hosting returning families in their homes. Authorities were doing their best to mobilize the few resources they had, but local systems were not equipped to cope with “such tremendous” needs.