Iran’s Foreign Ministry has recalled the ambassador to the United Kingdom over a controversial video of a ceremony hosted by the embassy. Mohsen Baharvand, Tehran’s ambassador to London, hosted the 43rd anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, allowing unveiled women in attendance.
Kayhan, a conservative Iranian newspaper, reported that Baharvand was sacked for hosting a norm-breaking ceremony. The newspaper is closely affiliated with Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. The paper said that Baharvand did not observe proper diplomatic protocols.
A video posted by Iran International on Twitter showed a woman playing the piano without a hijab. The shot pans to the right, revealing more guests and another woman not wearing a hijab.
ویدیویی از مراسم جشن در سفارت جمهوری اسلامی در لندن منتشر شده و گفته میشود مربوط به مهمانی سالگرد ۲۲ بهمن است. طبق تصاویر یک نوازنده بدون حجاب اسلامی برای مهمانها پیانو مینوازد pic.twitter.com/oUfAm8CNt4
— ايران اينترنشنال (@IranIntl) February 12, 2022
A London-based Iranian had initially tweeted the video, asking if “the presence of these people have the slightest benefit for the Iranian people.” The uploader later celebrated, saying, “it is gratifying that our voice was heard in Iran.” “Please send an ambassador to London who is pragmatic and worthy of serving Iran and working only for the benefit of the Iranian people,” the uploaded added.
Fars News, a news agency directly controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the event is not in check with “the values of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.” The news agency called Baharvand’s event an insult and “far from the principles of the Islamic Revolution which have caused a great deal of anger among the pious Iranians.”
Baharvand’s dismissal comes during a crucial stage of the west’s and Iran’s relationship and the talks about Iran’s nuclear deal. The ambassador’s sudden departure also put at risk Britain’s attempt to negotiate for the release of a British-Iranian held in Iran.
Baharvand was former deputy head of Iran’s legal department under Mohammad Javad Zarif, the former foreign minister. His appointment as ambassador came shortly after Ebrahim Raisi’s election in June 2021. Raisi, a hardline Islamic conservative, directed Iran towards becoming an oppressively conservative state with controversial censorship laws.
After state-controlled media picked up the video, a Basij student union wrote to Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the current foreign minister. The group demanded that Abdollahian and the top officials of the foreign ministry reprimand “those responsible for this breach of their revolutionary principles.”
