The Iranian Democratic Diaspora Network in Ireland (IDDNI) says it “strongly condemns” the Irish Government’s decision to proceed with the accreditation of the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, saying the move sends “a deeply troubling symbolic message to Iranians both inside Iran and across the diaspora.”
The IDDNI was co-founded by Mahya Ostovar, who is an Assistant Professor at the University of Galway.
In response, a protest is to be held outside Leinster House today from 2 pm, as the group says that the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic has not improved.
The group says that on the 13th January 2026, the Department of Foreign Affairs postponed the same ceremony because of the “very significant number of Iranians killed or injured and a communications blackout” following the regime’s brutal crackdown on protests in Iran. At the time, many Iranians in Ireland welcomed this decision as a recognition that normal diplomatic symbolism could not continue amid mass repression.
The representatives posed the question, “What has changed?, since then stating that “the human rights situation in Iran has not improved” but has “deteriorated further.”
At Áras an Uachtaráin on the 21st of May last, the new Ambassador, Eshagh Alhabib, presented his Letter of Credence to President Catherine Connolly.
According to the Government, “His Excellency, Eshagh Alhabib, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was accompanied by his spouse, Mrs Ferzaneh Habibi and Dr Seyed Esmaeel Yasini, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
IDDNI says it was “particularly disturbed by the widely circulated image of President Catherine Connolly smiling warmly alongside the representative of a regime responsible for severe and ongoing human rights abuses.” It says that this took place “at a moment when many Iranians are mourning executions, repression, and imprisonment of loved ones, such imagery was painful and unnecessary.”
The group says that “executions” are continuing “at an alarming rate”, and that among these are “political prisoners and protesters”.
An Iranian refugee in Ireland, Morteza Najaf, has been criminally charged after he put a poster of an upside-down image of the now deceased leader, Ali Khamenei, with “rest in piss” outside the Iranian embassy.
Mr Najaf, who says he was previously fined after he damaged a sign outside the Iranian embassy after the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amin at the hands of the IRGC’s modesty police, is to appear before the courts in September.
“Independent human rights organisations and international bodies, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations, have repeatedly warned about arbitrary executions, torture, and systematic repression in Iran,” it said.
“The Islamic Republic has repeatedly shown that it governs through violence rather than democratic legitimacy. During the nationwide uprising of 8 and 9 January 2026 alone, according to numerous reports, security forces killed thousands of Iranians and arrested tens of thousands more, including women and underage children. Across multiple uprisings in recent years, Iranians have repeatedly risked — and lost — their lives to make clear that they no longer want this regime.”
“At the same time, the Islamic Republic has continued to act as a destabilising force internationally. In recent months, the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have further expanded tensions and insecurity in the region, including around the Strait of Hormuz, threatening international maritime security and global stability. Given both the domestic repression and the regime’s broader regional conduct, it is difficult to understand why Western governments are once again moving toward appeasement and normalisation.” the IDDNI said.
“Against this backdrop, the accreditation ceremony sends a deeply troubling symbolic message to Iranians both inside Iran and across the diaspora. Diplomatic engagement may at times be presented as a necessity of international relations, but celebratory public symbolism is not.”
The group said that it is concerned that the welcoming of the ambassador “reflects a broader international pattern” and accused Western governments of appearing “willing to normalise relations with a regime that lacks legitimacy among its own people. This same strategy of accommodation and appeasement has failed for decades.”
“IDDNI calls on Irish political representatives, civil society organisations, media, and the broader public to take a clear stance on human rights and democratic values in relation to Iran. In democratic countries, public opinion matters. If there is a moment for Irish allies to stand with the Iranian people, it is now,” it said.
The group extended an invitation to members of the public “to join our peaceful protest outside the Dáil and encourage those concerned to contact their elected representatives and “express their opposition to the normalisation of relations with a regime that continues to violently repress its own population.”
US President Donald Trump has indicated that he is not happy with the IRGC’s latest offers towards a peace deal, saying he may have to “finish the job”
Despite this, the IRGC’s official Mohammad Akbarzadeh said the chance of returning to “war is low because of the enemy’s weakness”, as he warned that the military was “lying in wait with full magazines”, should it be deemed necessary, according to Tasnim news.
He warned that the military would turn the seas around Iran “into a graveyard for aggressors,” if the US recommenced its military campaign.
The IRGC intelligence ministry says that despite the ceasefire, the US and Israel are still planning the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and the partition of Iran.
It claimed to have evidence of “various weapons, ammunition and illegal communication tools, especially Starlink” satellite internet devices being smuggled into Iran to spark ethnic and religious divisions.