Al-anwar Newspaper English news in Australia
Members of the Iranian parliament have found themselves under fire for “strange” behaviour involving the EU’s top diplomat, Federica Mogherini.
She was in Iran for President Hassan Rouhani’s inauguration on Saturday when she found herself the centre of attention on the parliament floor.
Photos showed Ms Mogherini surrounded by a number of male MPs, taking photos.
Many social media users criticised the MPs, ridiculing them or labelling their actions “humiliating”.
The Fars news agency posted a photo which many social media users felt showed Ms Mogherini unimpressed – and labelled the MPs’ behaviour “strange”
One MP, Alireza Salimi, called the behaviour “self-surrender to the West”, and said that a committee on the conduct of members may probe the incident – if other MPs complain that the selfies caused “contempt” for parliament.
The EU has issued a number of sanctions against Iran over human rights and the country’s nuclear programme.
But while Mr Salimi felt the behaviour signalled subservience towards a top Western official, many on social media ridiculed the image of men crowding Ms Mogherini.
One popular tweet compared the image to a scene from the film Malena, where crowds of men rush to light actress Monica Belluci’s cigarette.
