• Politics: Congress suspends greetings to a delegation from Iran after denouncing Vox that women could not shake hands with men
  • Reactions: The PSOE and Podemos say they had no record of the protocol greeting with the Iranian delegation

The Iranian Embassy in Spain has released on Monday a note on the controversy generated by the visit of an Iranian delegation to Congress and it refers to the "belief in the superiority of Western values ​​in the field of human rights in the world and the need to impose them on other cultures ".

The controversy began because Vox announced that it would not attend after knowing that the Iranian protocol prevents men from shaking hands with women. Citizens partially joined the proposal - the vice president of the Commission attended as an institutional representative but not the spokeswoman for the Group - and the president of the body finally clarified that there would be no protocol greeting before the meeting.

The Embassy considers that the meeting "and the fact of not shaking hands with the honorable deputies of said commission ended up generating totally false and inaccurate perceptions before Spanish parties and media."

In fact, he explains that in all international meetings in which Iran participates, also on human rights or women's rights, "Iranian women do not shake hands with foreign men" nor men with women, "as is the case among men and women unfamiliar in Iran. "

"The foreign counterpart has never considered these facts as a violation of human rights or an insult to men or women," he continues, nor has there been any complaint. Similarly, he adds, in the "respectful and friendly relations" between Iran and Spain "this practice has always been maintained and the parties have never interpreted it as disrespectful or insulting."

Cultural relativity

Thus, he believes that there is a debate between "believing in 'cultural relativity' and the need for tolerance towards different cultures" and believing "in the superiority of Western values ​​regarding human rights in the world and the need to impose them on other cultures. " "A discussion that will continue, of course, in the future," concludes the note.

The Embassy has revealed some details about the meeting in question, noting that it was never raised to "establish" or "suspend" a protocol greeting, nor did it speak of "not looking at women" or "keeping a distance." In fact, it has made public the email that the Embassy itself sent to Congress before the visit and that qualifies as "simply a reminder" of what is "a well-known protocol".

The text of that email is limited to saying: "Just by remembering that by our protocol gentlemen cannot shake hands with ladies."

Last week, the Embassy already published a note on the visit to Spain of the Director General for Europe of the Foreign Ministry, Mahmoud Barimani , in which he did not expressly comment on the controversy but did say that in diplomatic relations between Spain and Iran, with over 400 years old, "both countries have always tried to develop bilateral relations based on tolerance and mutual respect for the laws and cultural and religious beliefs of the two civilized and ancient nations."

In addition, he reveals that the meeting with the Foreign Commission of the Congress ended with the communication that the president of the Tehran Parliament and his Foreign Affairs Committee invite Spanish deputies to visit Iran to "interact with their counterparts."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Congress of Deputies
  • Vox

PoliticsAlso marks forality as a red line for a 'Basque Country Sum'

PoliticsAbascal asks to "protect the Spaniards" from irregular immigrants and calls PSOE and United We racist

Politics Congress beats the Government in the Open Arms debate