Uzbekistan hands note of protest to Iranian ambassador over posts about Samarkand

According to the ministry's assessment, the historical and cultural heritage of Samarkand was interpreted one-sidedly and used for political purposes in these posts. Tashkent demanded that the Iranian side remove the controversial posts from the diplomatic missions' pages and take measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.

As Gazeta.uz clarifies, the posts in question were from the Iranian embassies in Armenia, China, and Zimbabwe, as well as the Iranian representation to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Mostly, these were responses to a video address by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, recorded on October 19 in front of the Registan during his visit to Uzbekistan. In the video, he spoke about the historical role of the city in world trade. One of the Iranian diplomatic missions responded to him on X: "The place where you are standing is part of Persian civilization and architecture." In the same post, it criticized his statements about this civilization in a speech on October 7 at the Acropolis in Athens.

At the meeting with the ambassador, the Uzbek side stated that the heritage of Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, and other ancient cities of the country was formed over many centuries, and the appearance of Samarkand reflects the history of the Uzbek people, its state and cultural traditions. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also reminded that publications on the official resources of diplomatic missions should be based on mutual respect and trust and not turn questions of history and culture into politics.

The ministry noted that Tashkent values its relations with Tehran, but remains committed to its principled position against a one-sided interpretation of its own heritage.