ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah defended his attendance at a Saudi National Day reception in Tehran after criticism of his appearance alongside Saudi officials amid heightened regional tensions. Ghaempanah said he attended the reception at the instruction of officials responsible for Iran's foreign policy and that the decision did not come from him personally. In comments to Tehran-based news outlet Akharin Khabar, he said he had not personally been eager to attend but had been instructed to take part and convey Iran's official position. The event drew criticism after video showed Ghaempanah standing alongside Saudi officials and taking part in the cake-cutting ceremony. Fars News, an outlet affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), published an article criticizing the appearance before deleting it. The event drew criticism after a video showed Ghaempanah standing alongside Saudi officials and taking part in the cake-cutting ceremony. Fars News, an outlet affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), published an article criticizing the appearance before deleting it. “In recent months, the United States has even imposed a naval blockade on Iran, while numerous reports have emerged about ‘military cooperation between Washington and Riyad’ against groups aligned with Iran in the region,” explained the IRGC-linked news agency. The reception was hosted by the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and attended by Iranian officials and diplomats. Saudi Arabia's official news agency reported that Ambassador Abdullah Alanazi received Ghaempanah along with other senior Iranian officials and heads of diplomatic missions. Former Iranian officials also criticized the appearance. Former Roads and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash and former Cultural Heritage Minister Ezzatollah Zarghami questioned the participation of Iranian officials at the event amid regional tensions and the conflict in Yemen. Ghaempanah later told Iranian state television that he had attended under instructions from the relevant foreign-policy authorities. He said he used the event to condemn what he described as US attacks on Iran launched from Saudi territory. Fars subsequently published a follow-up report saying its own reporting had confirmed Ghaempanah's account that his attendance had been an official assignment rather than a personal decision. While maintaining its criticism of the decision to have him attend, the outlet said he did not have a personal role in making it. The episode comes amid renewed tensions in the region and highlights the sensitivity surrounding Iranian officials' contacts with Saudi Arabia and other countries amid the current conflict. Iran and Saudi Arabia restored diplomatic relations in 2023 after years of rivalry. Ghaempanah is not the only Iranian official to face scrutiny over contacts with foreign governments. On Wednesday, Iranian hardliners questioned Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's authority to engage US officials in New York, prompting Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei to say Araghchi had been authorized to convey Tehran's conditions.
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