Iran's ambassador skips handshake with Spain's Princess Leonor: protocol, not a snub

Iran's ambassador skips handshake with Princess Leonor: pre-notified protocol, not a snub

Iran's ambassador to Spain did not shake hands with the Princess of Asturias at an official event. It was not an oversight or an improvisation: the Iranian diplomatic mission maintains that the gesture reflects "long-standing and well-known ceremonial principles" and that the Royal Household knows in advance that the greeting takes place without physical contact. The scene, repeated at receptions for the Diplomatic Corps, has once again reignited the same debate as every year: where does courtesy end and where does submission begin?

What exactly peine during the greeting

The Iranian embassy has issued statements after the most widely discussed episodes to clarify that the contact-free greeting is part of its ceremonial protocol. In January 2023, at the reception for the Diplomatic Corps, then-ambassador Hassan Ghashghavi shook hands with the King and merely bowed his head to Letizia. According to EFE, that greeting was already customary at such events, and Vozpópuli noted that the same thing peine to Queen Sofía in her day. When the ambassador attends with his vvife, the arrangement is: he greets the King and she greets the Queen.

The key lies in the advance notice. The embassy explains that when confirming attendance, it informs Zarzuela's protocol office that greetings to women will be made without contact. It is therefore not a last-second decision nor one aimed at the princess. It is a public rule that the Iranian regime has imposed on its diplomats since 1979.

Protocol announced in advance versus improvised protocol

Much of the discontent stems not from the gesture itself, but from the feeling that Spain accepts at home rules it would not apply abroad. Some argue that an ambassador accredited to Spain should respect local customs, while others reply that no country forces its guests to break their religious rules: notice is given, an arrangement is made, and everyone greets as they can. The example often cited is that of the Japanese, who also do not shake hands, or the British, whose protocol is negotiated in advance for every official visit.

At its core lies an older debate: whether diplomatic courtesy is neutral ground or whether, on the contrary, every gesture is a political concession. The Royal Household has not turned the episode into an incident, and that too is part of the message.

What the episode says about the Iranian regime

The contact-free greeting is not an isolated detail. It is the visible tip of a rule that in Iran also applies to Muslim women, who do not shake hands with men, and which the regime itself presents as a sign of respect. The opposing reading, very present in public discussion, is that this rule enshrines a hierarchy: a woman is not touched because she is considered an object of guardianship, not an equal.

The debate intersects with another underlying issue: Iranian foreign policy, the blockading of straits and international trade. There, positions diverge with more noise than facts. Some point to the regime as responsible for regional instability; others recall that the Iranian people are the first to suffer under their leaders. The discussion over an unshaken hand almost always ends up as a discussion about an entire country.

Can an ambassador be required to greet people the Spanish way?

There is no single answer. Diplomatic practice accepts that each mission maintains its own ceremonial rules as long as it gives advance notice, which is what peine here. Demanding otherwise would force Spain to apply a standard it does not apply to other countries with their own protocols. The legitimate criticism is not of the greeting, but of the rule that imposes it: the regime that requires its diplomats not to touch women. That is where the focus shifts to a different target.

With the episode closed without diplomatic incident, the open question is another: if the gesture is repeated every year, will it keep causing the same uproar or will it eventually become normalized as part of the protocol landscape?