Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Iranian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Mohammad Ali Eskandari on 23 October and handed him a note of protest, the ministry’s press service said on Instagram.
The note expressed Tashkent’s “strong objection” to posts published on the social media platform X by several Iranian diplomatic missions abroad.
According to the Uzbek Foreign Ministry, the posts presented Samarkand’s historical and cultural heritage in a one-sided manner and for political purposes.
During the meeting, the Uzbek side stressed that the heritage of Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and other historic cities forms an integral part of centuries of multifaceted historical and cultural development.
The ministry said Samarkand’s historical and cultural character reflects centuries of history, traditions of statehood and the cultural development of the Uzbek people.
It also emphasised that materials published on the official information channels of diplomatic missions should comply with the principles of “mutual respect and trust” and should not politicise historical and cultural issues.
The Iranian side was asked to remove the relevant posts from its diplomatic missions’ social media accounts and take measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Uzbekistan values its relations with Iran, which are based on mutual respect and trust, the ministry said, while maintaining a firm position against one-sided interpretations of the country’s historical and cultural heritage.
