Iran's authorities infuriated by Australian embassy's support for LGBTQ

Iranian authorities have been enraged by an Instagram post on the official page of the Australian embassy in Tehran that marked the annual LGBTQIA+ awareness day.

The post was first published Monday, showing Ambassador Ian McConville and his colleagues celebrating the Wear It Purple Day in Iran, where homosexuality is officially banned, and homosexuals face the threat of execution.

Reacting to the post, Iran’s foreign ministry announced Tuesday that it had summoned McConville to “condemn” the publication of a post that “was offensive and against Iranian and Islamic norms and customs.”

The Instagram post, which expressed support for all sexual and gender groups, has been harshly criticized by Iran’s state-run media and religious officials. “Decisive action has to be taken against [McConville] in accordance with legal and Islamic ordinances,” said Alireza Arafi, a top Shia cleric and head of Iran's Islamic Seminaries.

In Iran, homosexuality is punishable by death for men and by 100 lashes for women. On repeated offenses, women can be also executed under the laws of the Islamic Republic which are based on a hardline interpretation of Shia Islam.

The US State Department has expressed concern about reports that Iran's “security forces harassed, arrested, and detained individuals they suspected or perceived as being LGBTQI+."

It’s unlikely that the Australian embassy was unaware of Iran’s official position on homosexuality. The decision to publicize the celebration may therefore be seen as a message of encouragement for the Iranian LGBTQI+ community suffering under Islamic rule.

“Today, and every day, we’re dedicated to creating a supportive environment, where everyone, especially LGBTQIA+ youth, can feel proud to be themselves,” the original post read. “Let’s keep championing diversity and inclusion for a brighter, more inclusive future 🤝🏳️‍🌈.”

The sentiment was echoed by the German embassy in Tehran, which posted purple hearts in reply to the original post by the Australian embassy.

According to the brief published by Iran’s foreign ministry, the Australian ambassador was asked to take “appropriate measures to compensate” for the Instagram post. “Such actions by the embassy are inconsistent with international law and the Vienna Diplomatic Convention, which governs diplomatic conduct in respect to the host country's laws and regulations,” McConville was told.

Iran's laws allow individuals to change their gender identity markers on government-issued identification cards after gender-affirming surgery and by court permission. Many Islamic Republic apologists portray the country's "tolerance" of transgenders as an expression of liberalism.

However, the Islamic Republic seems to be exploiting the sex-reassignment surgery (SRS) as a means of purging gays and lesbians from public life, as evidenced in a 2019 report by Economist.