Iran’s Jewish representative in parliament, Homayoun Sameh, has appealed to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, warning that extremists could exploit tensions surrounding the war with Israel to target the country’s Jewish community.

In a letter to Guterres, Sameh called for immediate measures to protect religious minorities, expressing concern that public anger over the conflict could place Iranian Jews in danger.

Sameh claimed that the fighting had killed more than 1,000 people, including 800 civilians, leaving “a deep wound” and stirring painful emotions among Iranians.

His appeal for protection was accompanied by a denunciation of Israel and Zionism. “We, the Jews of Iran, have no connection to the policies and actions of the Zionist regime,” he wrote.

Sameh sought to distinguish Judaism, which he described as a monotheistic religion, from Zionism, which he labeled a “political ideology oriented toward violence.”

He urged Guterres to direct UN bodies to take practical, immediate steps to safeguard religious minorities. He also invited the secretary-general or a special representative to visit Iran to examine the Jewish community’s situation firsthand.

Despite warning of potential attacks, Sameh presented Iran as a country of respectful religious coexistence. He reiterated the Jewish community’s loyalty to its homeland and pointed to its approximately 2,500-year history, tracing its roots to the era of Cyrus the Great.

Sameh also asserted that Jewish rights are guaranteed under the Islamic Republic’s constitution, noting that the community has a parliamentary representative and claiming that its shuls operate freely.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)