Iran Summons Tajik Envoy to Protest Baseless Accusations

The Tajik envoy was summoned on Friday afternoon by the head of the Foreign Ministry’s Central Asia Department, and received Iran’s strong protest at the irresponsible behaviour of the Tajik state TV and its move to level false and biased charges against Iran.

It was underlined in the meeting that the Islamic Republic of Iran seeks friendly and brotherly relations with Tajikistan based on mutual respect, but the continuation of such conduct by the Tajik government is against the norms of friendly relations.

The government in Dushanbe should be mindful of the consequences of such behaviours, the ambassador was told.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran expects the Tajik government to correct its approach, especially by stopping the Tajik state TV’s false propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Iranian official said in the meeting.

The ambassador of Tajikistan, in turn, said he will convey the Islamic Republic’s protest to his respective government as soon as possible.

It was the second time this week that the Tajik ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to receive Tehran’s strong protest against the same issue.

The Tajik envoy had earlier been summoned by the Iranian assistant foreign minister and head of the Foreign Ministry’s Eurasia Department.

Iran-Tajikistan relations have seen tensions since 2015, when the leader of Tajikistan’s Islamic Renaissance Party, Muhiddin Kabiri, attended an international conference in Tehran.

Tajikistan has banned the party as an “extremist and terrorist organization” after it blamed IRPT for 2015 attacks on a police station and an arsenal near Dushanbe that killed 26 people.

In 2017, bilateral relations between the two countries were further strained by a documentary aired by the Tajik state TV which accused Tehran of stoking the 1992-1997 Tajik Civil War by providing funds to the Islamist opposition and training militants.

The program reportedly featured three Tajiks confessing to a string of assassinations in the mid to late 1990s.