Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei:
Anti-Semitism is a European phenomenon and has nothing to do with Iranian culture There are about 100 synagogues throughout Iran. Even though we are in an all-out war with a regime that falsely claims to…
Assessment
Iran's spokesman is drawing a sharp line between European anti-Semitism and Iranian identity, while simultaneously acknowledging the country's Jewish community and its synagogues. The framing does double duty: it distances Iran from European history while justifying hostility toward Israel as a political conflict, not a religious one. The mention of roughly 100 synagogues serves as evidence for that claim. Watch whether this rhetorical separation holds as the war rhetoric escalates, or whether critics point to state actions that blur the distinction.