Georgia has summoned Iranian Ambassador Seyed Ali Moujani Ghomi to the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) following his social media posts about Georgian history and Queen Ketevan, Georgia Online reports. Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Khvtisiashvili told the Iranian diplomat that his statements were outside the scope of diplomatic activities.

According to the Georgian foreign ministry, Khvtisiashvili noted that such statements negatively affect public sentiment. He expressed hope that the Iranian side would take appropriate steps and such incidents would not be repeated so that Tbilisi would not be forced to take additional measures.

Also, the Georgian deputy FM reminded that foreign diplomats accredited in Georgia must act within the framework of their mandate and competence, observe the norms of diplomatic relations, and refrain from commenting on the history and internal affairs of the host country.

As per Georgia Online, the reason for this summoning was Ambassador Moujani’s social media post about Queen Ketevan, one of the most respected historical figures in Georgia. A few days ago, the Iranian diplomat wrote that her image had been illuminated on the facade of the Iranian embassy in Tbilisi, and announced his intention to present the results of his preliminary research, which is dedicated to the queen, as well as documents and historical sources stored in Iran and Georgia. Moujani emphasized that his upcoming post will not be an official version of history and will not pretend to finally close the issue of Ketevan.

He noted that it will be the historians’ personal assessment at the current phase of the research, which may be supplemented, revised, or corrected in the future, and based on new sources and the joint work of Georgian and Iranian researchers.

In addition, he wrote that reinterpreting such stories could help Iran and Georgia better understand each other. This is not the first time that the Iranian ambassador’s statements have raised questions in Tbilisi.

Earlier in September, Moujani had made comments when Georgia had decided to maintain US sanctions on Iranian airlines, including posting a map of the region that only showed part of Georgia.