Iranian ambassador to Baku: Iranian Azerbaijanis in number thrice exceed population of Azerbaijan
“According to the Constitution of Iran, the language, culture and customs of all ethnic Iranians are protected,” said Iranian ambassador to Baku Mohsun Pakayin, as it is stated by Iranian news agency IRNA.
The ambassador of Iran in an interview given to novosti.az portal referring to the rights of ethnic Iranians particularly noted, “The official language of Iran is Persian. It is taught in all the educational institutions of the country. Ethnic Iranians recognize Persian as an official language; however in every day speech they freely use their mother tongue.”
Ambassador Pakayin added that “All the ethnic minorities living in Iran are considered to be Iranians. For instance, around 30 million of our population is Azerbaijanis which in number thrice exceed population of Azerbaijan. Besides, millions of Kurds, Lors, Beluchs, Ghashghayis, Arabs and other ethnic minorities live in Iran, which together constitute one single Iranian nation.”
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