KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned Taliban-appointed Chargé d’Affaires in Tehran, Fazl Mohammad Haqqani, over a senior Taliban official’s disrespectful act toward the country’s national anthem.
The incident occurred during the 38th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran, where Taliban Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Hajj and Islamic Affairs, Azizurahman Mansor, refused to stand for Iran’s national anthem while the other guests did.
This incident sparked widespread reactions and criticism among Iranian officials and citizens, who say it was a disrespectful act toward the country’s national anthem and a violation of diplomatic norms.
As reported by Iranian news outlets, the ministry summoned the Taliban-appointed ambassador on Friday, September 20, to condemn and protest the disrespectful act of the Taliban official.
“The guest must respect the symbols of the host country, and showing respect for national anthems is an internationally recognized behavior,” said the Head of the Second Department of South Asian Division at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“In addition, the action of the representative of Afghanistan was not proportional to the lofty goals of participation in the Islamic Unity Conference,” he added.
According to the report, the Taliban Chargé d’Affaires attributed the action of their deputy minister, who was representing the Taliban at the conference, to a personal decision, saying it does not reflect the regime’s opinion in any way.
Earlier, Hasan Kazemi Qomi, Iran’s ambassador and special envoy for Afghanistan, condemned the Taliban official’s act as a lack of respect for diplomatic principles.
The Taliban deputy minister later apologized in a video posted on an Iranian news outlet, attributing his decision to Afghan tradition and claiming that he had no intention of disrespecting Iran’s national anthem.
This is not the first instance of a Taliban official disrespecting another country’s national anthem. On Tuesday, the Taliban consul general in Peshawar, Pakistan, also refused to stand when the Pakistani national anthem was played at an official event, citing the presence of music in the anthem as the reason.
Following the incident, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry summoned the Taliban senior diplomat in Islamabad, Mawlawi Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb, conveying that such disrespect for the host country’s national anthem violates diplomatic norms.
The Taliban authorities have banned music in Afghanistan as part of their restrictive measures and strict interpretation of Islamic laws imposed since their return to power three years ago.
Since then, the regime has destroyed and burned thousands of musical instruments across Afghanistan, deeming them incompatible with Sharia law. Furthermore, hundreds of musicians and artists have fled the country, while those who remain face the risk of intimidation, abuse, torture, and even death.
