Abbas Araghchi Controversy: Questions Over Religious Image, Hijab Rules and the UN General Assembly

Iranian Officials and Women at International Events

It is also important to distinguish between social interaction and official diplomacy.

Iranian diplomats routinely meet female diplomats.

The UN system itself is highly international and includes large numbers of female diplomats, journalists, officials and staff.

Araghchi’s public schedule demonstrates that international diplomatic engagement requires interaction across gender and nationality.

For example, photographs from September 22, 2026 document Araghchi meeting European Commission Vice-President and EU foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas during the UN General Assembly.

Other photographs from the same trip show Araghchi meeting Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

These encounters illustrate an important point:

Iranian foreign policy cannot be conducted without interaction with people from different cultural and religious backgrounds.

Diplomacy requires meetings, negotiations, conferences, photographs and media engagement.

That does not necessarily mean Iranian officials have abandoned their own religious standards.

It means that the practical environment of international diplomacy is different from everyday public life inside Iran.

September 25, 2026 | 10:20 pm