Controversial Ambassador Leaves Tehran; Jalali: Russia Sending New Ambassador to Iran

Kazem Jalali, Iran’s ambassador to Moscow, announced on Tuesday, September 15, the replacement of Russia’s ambassador to Tehran.

Mr. Jalali tweeted: “Today I met with Alexei Dedov. He will soon begin work as Russia’s new ambassador to Iran. Both sides emphasized that Iran-Russia relations are in one of the best periods of their history.”

Iran’s ambassador to Moscow thanked the efforts of “Levan Jagaryan, the previous Russian ambassador” and wished “success” to Alexei Dedov.

Levan Jagaryan’s statements and actions over the past year and more have provoked widespread reactions in Iran, including an interview with Shargh newspaper in June of this year that prompted criticism from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as Jomhouri-ye Eslami newspaper.

In part of this interview, he had said: “Western governments only aim to bring their hollow values like homosexuality and very filthy things to Iran, but we oppose it.”

Nasser Kanaani, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, responding to a reporter who asked whether Guidance Patrol raids were carried out on Russian orders, had said: “Certainly we do not expect that respected foreign ambassadors residing in Tehran express opinions or interfere in Iran’s internal issues and matters.”

Jomhouri-ye Eslami newspaper also wrote on July 18 in an article titled “Russia’s Ambassador and the Literature of the Qajar Era”: “The current Russian ambassador to Tehran is these days attempting to repeat the interventionist shows of Russian and British ambassadors in the courts of Qajar kings, though he does not realize that he was born about two centuries later and everything has changed.”

Levan Jagaryan had previously faced widespread negative reactions in Iran after posting a photo of himself paying respects to Alexander Griboyedov, one of the drafters of the Treaty of Turkmenchay.

After widespread negative reactions from Iranians on social media, Russia’s ambassador to Iran said: “Griboyedov is an enemy to you and to us a great poet and prominent diplomat.”

Levan Jagaryan also added in an interview with Etemad newspaper published on Wednesday, March 16: “I did not sit with the photograph of the Shah there, there was no Pahlavi painting and Farah Pahlavi, we respect the Iranian people, but allow us to have our own opinion.”

Alexander Griboyedov, a Russian poet and composer, who was one of Russia’s military commanders in the Caucasus during the Iran-Russia War in 1826-1828, played a role in drafting the Treaty of Turkmenchay, a treaty that resulted in the loss of large portions of Iranian territory. He was killed on January 30, 1829 in Tehran by protesters.

The publication of a joint photo of Russia’s and Britain’s ambassadors commemorating the Tehran Conference of 1943 in August of last year by the Russian Embassy also provoked widespread reactions on social media in Iran and prompted the Speaker of Parliament to call for an apology from the two ambassadors.

In the photo, Russia’s ambassador to Iran is seen next to the new head of Britain’s diplomatic mission to Iran and an empty chair on the steps of the entrance to the Russian Embassy building.

In explanation of this photo in a tweet by Russia’s Embassy published on Wednesday, it was stated that the photo of this meeting between Russian and British officials was taken on the “historic staircase” of the Russian Embassy, where the 1943 Tehran Conference was held.

Iran-Russia relations have historically been accompanied by skepticism among many Iranian citizens, but the Islamic Republic has attempted to expand its relations with Moscow over the past decade.

Source: Radio Farda