Certain materials regarding the historical and cultural heritage of Samarkand interpreted in a biased and politically motivated manner by Tehran's diplomatic missions abroad caused sharp objections from Tashkent.

On October 23, 2026, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Uzbekistan, Muhammad Ali Iskandariy, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan. During the meeting, a note of protest expressing the firm objection of Uzbekistan was handed to the Iranian side.

The protest was caused by the publication of materials on the "X" social network by a number of Iranian diplomatic missions in foreign countries, which interpreted the historical and cultural heritage of the city of Samarkand in a biased and politically motivated manner.

During the meeting, it was emphasized that the heritage of Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and other historical cities of Uzbekistan is an integral part of a rich and multifaceted historical and cultural development formed over the centuries.

The Uzbek side noted that the historical and cultural image of Samarkand reflects the centuries-old history, statehood traditions and cultural development of the Uzbek people.

It was also emphasized that the materials published on the official information resources of diplomatic missions must comply with the principles of mutual respect and trust, and historical and cultural issues should not be politicized.

A demand was made to the Iranian side to remove the relevant posts from the social media pages of diplomatic missions and to take necessary measures to prevent the repetition of such situations in the future.

While stating that Uzbekistan values relations with Iran based on mutual respect and trust, it was emphasized that the country maintains its principled position against the biased interpretation of its historical and cultural heritage.