Iran Says Samarkand Heritage Posts Targeted U.S.

Iran has said that posts by its embassies about Samarkand’s Persian heritage were directed at the United States. The explanation followed a diplomatic protest from Uzbekistan, which demanded the removal of posts describing the city’s architecture as part of Persian civilization. Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on October 26 that Tehran attaches great importance to its relations with Uzbekistan and views their shared cultural heritage as a foundation of friendship between the two countries. "Some of our colleagues at certain embassies published their messages as an address to the American side," Baghaei explained. In the reported remarks, Baghaei did not specifically address the architectural claims made in the embassy posts. The dispute followed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Samarkand on October 19. Accompanied by Saida Mirziyoyeva, head of Uzbekistan’s Presidential Administration, he visited Registan Square, one of Central Asia’s best-known landmarks. Rubio spoke about Samarkand’s historical role in international trade and the region’s importance to relations with Washington. The posts appeared to be a response to a speech Rubio gave in Athens on October 7, in which he recalled the Persian destruction of the Acropolis in 480 BC and sharply criticized Iran’s current leadership. Following Rubio’s visit to Samarkand, Iranian embassies in several countries posted photographs and videos on X showing him in front of the city’s historic monuments, arguing that he was surrounded by the Persian cultural heritage he had attacked earlier that month. Iran’s embassy in Armenia wrote that the site visited by the U.S. secretary of state was part of Persian civilization and architecture. The Iranian diplomatic mission in Zimbabwe described Registan’s arches as a characteristic feature of Iranian-Islamic civilization. On October 23, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Ali Eskandari and delivered a diplomatic note of protest. Tashkent regarded the posts as one-sided and politicized, saying the heritage of Samarkand and other historic Uzbek cities reflected centuries of cultural development and formed part of Uzbekistan’s history. By October 26, Iranian embassies in Armenia, Bulgaria, Zimbabwe, Finland, and China had removed the posts, according to Uzbek Foreign Ministry spokesperson Omonulla Fayziev. The dispute touched on the sensitive issue of competing claims to Central Asia’s cultural heritage. Samarkand was one of the centers of ancient Sogdiana and later belonged to states ruled by different dynasties. Persian language and culture played an important role in the city’s life for centuries. Samarkand also remains home to a substantial Tajik population, and Tajik, a variety of Persian, is still widely spoken, particularly in the historic center. The monuments around Registan Square, built between the 15th and 17th centuries, reflect the city’s history under different rulers and the influence of several cultural traditions. Since Uzbekistan’s independence in 1991, they have also become national symbols.