A series of smiling Instagram photos of diplomats wearing purple and enjoying cupcakes has caused a spat between Iran and Australia, with the Australian ambassador summoned to explain the “disrespectful” behavior.
The Australian Embassy in Tehran posted photos on Monday to mark Wear It Purple Day, an annual celebration of LGBTQIA+ youth founded in Australia.
“Today, and every day, we’re dedicated to creating a supportive environment, where everyone, especially LGBTQIA+ youth, can feel proud to be themselves,” the caption read.
The post drew swift condemnation from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which deemed it “disrespectful and contrary to Iranian and Islamic cultural norms,” according to state news agency IRNA.
Homosexuality is illegal in Iran, which considers same-sex relations a breach of Islamic values, punishable under the country’s Sharia-based law.
“The official Instagram page of the Australian Embassy in Tehran has promoted homosexuality in a derogatory post,” IRNA reported.
Australian ambassador Ian McConville responded by saying the embassy “had no intention of offending the Iranian people,” according to IRNA.
The bi-lingual post on the official Australia In Iran Instagram account has drawn thousands of likes and comments, including from the German Embassy Tehran which responded with three purple heart emojis.
Asked about the diplomatic spat in an interview with Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC, government minister Murray Watt said he was “concerned” about Iran’s reaction to a message he said was in keeping with his own country’s values.
“We support all Australians, regardless of their sexual orientation, their gender, their race, and I am concerned to see this reaction from the Iranian government to the activities of the Australian embassy,” Watt told the ABC.
“We’re very proud about the fact that our embassies promote Australian values internationally and I’m very concerned to see an overseas government seemingly take action against an Australian embassy that is upholding Australian values,” he said.
According to Amesty International, LGBTQIA+ people suffer “systemic discrimination and violence in Iran,” where the punishment for consensual same-sex relations ranges from flogging to the death penalty.
Iranian authorities have sentenced rights advocates to death over posts on social media.
In 2021 prominent Iranian LGBTQIA+ campaigners Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani and Elham Chobdar were arrested and later sentenced to death for alleged crimes including “corruption on earth” and “promoting homosexuality” over social media, according to the US government and Amnesty International.
Both advocates were released on bail in 2023, and Sedighi-Hamadani fled Iran for an “undisclosed country” the next year. Chobdar was re-arrested in 2024 and remains in detention, according to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
