The anniversary of the establishment of the first permanent Consulate General of Iran in India dates back to 1848 in the city of Bombay (now Mumbai) at the same time as the establishment of other Iranian embassies in other countries such as London, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, and Tbilisi.
The first envoy appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran to visit India and the important port of Bombay is Mirza Hossein Khan, known as Mushir al-Dowleh, who was one of the famous people of the Qajar period and later became the Minister of Foreign Affairs and one of the most influential people in the history of Iran.
Mirza Hasan Esfandiari was one of the other prominent people who, after receiving the title of Mohtasham al-Saltaneh, went to India and stayed in Bombay for three years. After returning to Iran, he reached the ministry and in the third, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth periods, he was the representative of Tehran in the National Council. From the 10th to the 13th term, he was also the chairman of the National Assembly.
Mirza Mohammad Ali Khan, also known as Alaa al-Saltaneh, is another person who was appointed as the Consul General of Iran in Bombay during the Qajar dynasty. After the issuance of the constitutional decree, he was appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and served in various cabinet of as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Public Benefits and other positions.
Among other famous Iranian people sent to Bombay was Mohammad Mirza Kashif al-Saltaneh. He was sent to India as Consul General. His flagship activity is research and investigation on tea and transferring its seeds and technology to Iran for cultivation. Based on this, he is known as the discoverer of tea and the "father of Iranian tea".
Consul Generals after the Islamic Revolution:
- Asadollah Karimnejad: March 1979 - August 1979
- Iraj Naqibi: August 1979 - March 1980
- Kamaluddin Mokhlesi: March 1980 - August 1980
- Ali Salehzadeh Menshadi: August 1980 - March 1984
- Abdullah Nowrozi: March 1984 - August 1989
- Ali Zali: September 1989 - April 1993
- Khosro Rezazadeh: April 1993 – August 1995
- Seyed Kamal Yasini: August 1995 - November 1999
- Mehdi Honardoost: November 1999 - November 2003
- Mohammad Shokrani: January 2004 - May 2007
- Ali Mohammadi: May 2007 – October 2011
- Masoud Ebrahimi Khaleghi: December 2012 – November 2017
- Abolfazl Mohammad Alikhani: July 2019 – December 2023
Iranian Government Agencies in Mumbai:
Considering the many cultural commonalities between the two ancient lands of India and Iran, the cultural agreement between the two countries was signed in the presence of Mr. Ali Asghar Hekmat, the Iranian ambassador to New Delhi, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the Minister of Culture of India. Based on this, the Iran Culture House in Mumbai started its official activity in 1956 in the opening ceremony with the presence of Mr. Hekmat, the ambassador of the then government in New Delhi and Mr. Mohammad Qavam, the Consul General of Iran to Mumbai, and in fact. It was the first cultural representation of Iran abroad.
Iran Air was established in 1966. This company is one of the oldest companies operating in India and transfers passengers from Tehran to Mumbai and vice versa every Friday.