Hassan Dai, March 2020

What is most disturbing about the regime-sponsored anti-Semitism in Iran is the fact that is it relentless, widespread, expanding and increasingly more shameless. The Regime tries to theorize, legitimize, and often, trivialize anti-Semitism in Iran.

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Abstract: The Multi-faceted hatred

“In the Holy Quran, the Jews are referred to as the main enemies of Islam. God has divided the enemies of Islam into three categories: the infidels, the hypocrites, and the Jews, with the Jews being the most dangerous of them all. There are more than 500 verses in the Quran about the evil characteristics of the Jews. These people were not able to join the righteous path under any circumstance because of their incorrigible nature. The Jews consider themselves to be the superior race, which has given them the illusion that they must dominate the world and they continue to struggle day and night to achieve their big goal.”

This anti-Semitic outburst is part of a speech by a University professor during a three-day conference conference  in Tehran in August 2018. The event was sponsored by government-funded organizations and Fars news agency affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards. This form of anti-Semitism with an “Islamic” theme, is promoted by the Iranian regime through its various organs, the State-controlled TVs and media, and social media platforms. It is also taught in Shia seminaries across the country and taught as a module at Tehran University.

The Iranian regime-sponsored anti-Semitism operates on several levels using different stereotypes.  As professor Bernard Lewis has explained in his study of Muslim Anti-Semitism, “European anti-Semitism, in both its theological and racist versions, was essentially alien to Islamic traditions, culture, and modes of thought. But to an astonishing degree, the ideas, the literature, even the crudest inventions of the Nazis and their predecessors have been internalized and Islamized.”

Under the banner of anti-Zionism, the Iranian regime promotes the European – Nazi stereotypes which depict the Jews as powerful and wealthy conspirators who control the global finance, dominate Western governments and media, and instigate crisis and wars to further their agenda.

According to the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, “there is a malicious and dangerous network in the world which is called “Global Zionism,” and the US is its agent.” He claims that “Zionism is a threat to all humanity. Today even western governments are under the influence of the Zionists. They too are suffering from the Zionist centers of power and wealth.”. The Hawzah.net, the main website of Iranian seminaries has more than 2000 articles and reports about Zionism.

Two national TV channels, the Documentary, and the Education channels, belonging to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) have been airing so-called “documentaries” about Zionists and their conspiracies. One documentary is titled ”The secret of Armageddon,” and the other is called the “Devil’s plan.” These “documentaries” which spew anti-Jewish hatred, are re-broadcast by hundreds of websites and online forums which are tied to the regime and IRGC.

Then, there are the relentless efforts by the regime to deny or call into question the reality of the Holocaust. In addition to the Supreme Leader’s public declarations, regime-sponsored cartoon exhibitions and conferences gathering notorious Holocaust deniers from around the globe, various organizations, Shia Seminaries, media, and social media platforms are actively involved in Holocaust denying. For example, Kawthar TV, one of the international channels of Iran broadcasting (IRIB) which broadcasts in several languages in  Iran and across the Middle East, regularly produces and airs Holocaust denying videos labeled as documentaries. Hawzah.net, the main website of Iranian Seminaries, has more than 250 posts related to Holocaust denying.

What is most disturbing about the regime-sponsored anti-Semitism in Iran is the fact that is it relentless, widespread, expanding and increasingly more shameless. The Regime tries to theorize, legitimize, and often, trivialize anti-Semitism in Iran.

As a result, its behavior does not seem to be shocking anymore. A good example is the call to eliminate Israel. When in 2005 the former President Mahmoud  Ahmadinejad made his infamous declaration that Israel should be wiped off the map, it sparked outrage around the globe. Pro-Iranian regime pundits in the West argued that the Iranian president was mistranslated, and he did not really mean to eradicate Israel.

But, just recently, in November 2018, during the opening speech to the Islamic unity conference in Tehran, Hassan Rouhani the so-called “moderate President” called Israel a  cancerous tumor in the region. Here is a collection of Supreme Leader’s declaration about the elimination of Israel. In 2015, the Supreme Leader predicted that the Jewish State would be eliminated in 25 years. Subsequently, the regime unveiled a digital clock in Tehran’s center counting down the days to what it says will be the destruction of Israel. In February 2018, Tehran held the first “International Israel Hourglass Festival,” dedicated to  Israel’s annihilation.

 

The Jews

The most prevalent form of state-sponsored anti-Semitism in Iran stems from the Islamic tradition and is based on anti-Jewish references from Quran and theological texts that frame the “Jews” as “wretched anti-Islamic conspirators.” This narrative suggests a historical continuity between the plots by past Jewish tribes against Prophet Muhammed and present-day Zionists-Jewish conspiracies against Islam.

The official website of the Iranian ministry of culture and Islamic Guidance regularly posts anti-Semitic reports and articles. For example, one post, promotes a book titled: “The Jews’ image in Quran” written by a professor in the University of Tehran: “The book explains the moral characteristics and conduct of Jews as explained in the Quran, like stinginess, jealousy, fraud, abrasiveness, bribery and distortion of the holy verses, etc. The Sixth Chapter writes about the fate and final destiny of the Jews. As a result of the many sins that they have committed, they will suffer severe punishments in this life and the afterlife. The Quran dissuades the Muslim from befriending the Jews.”

The official website of “Islamic Culture and Relations Organization” (ICRO) which coordinates the activities of various organizations responsible for religious and cultural activities abroad posts an interview with the notorious anti-Semitic clerics Mehdi Taeb in which he responds to the question about the annihilation of the Jews: “Question: Will the annihilation of the Jews occur before or after the appearance of the Twelfth Imam? Taeb: When we study the reason for the disappearance and occultation of the Twelfth Imam, naturally the first factor was the threat against his life. If we believe in this hypothesis that the Jews were a danger to his life, then at the time of his reappearance, they (Jews) must be contained to prevent the Imam’s assassination. Therefore, I do not believe that the Jews will be annihilated hundred percent, whereas they will be contained severely.”

The most active players in Iran promoting this form of anti-Semitism are the Shia seminaries, religious organization and their vast network of social media platforms. The hawzah.net, one of the leading official websites of Iranian seminaries contains hundreds of reports, speeches, and articles on this subject. In one post titled: “Jews’ image in Quran” it lists some of their alleged characteristics and beliefs as “Enmity and harassment of the believers, rebel and disobedience, cruelty and inclemency, disbelief in prophecy, blasphemy of the blessings, killing of the prophets, breaking the oath and distortion of God’s words. “

Another post on Seminary website explains that at the time of his reappearance, the twelfth Imam will defeat the Jews and will conquer Jerusalem: “In the Quran, many verses refer to the Jew and the unpleasant attributes of this people; some of the verses describe the destruction, eternal desecration, and annihilation of them. Following his reappearance, the twelfth Imam shall face the Jews in two stages. In the first stage, adequate reasoning for the Jews shall be presented, whereby they are invited to convert to Islam. Some will come to the faith, while many will reject it due to their racism and intransigence and a hard war will ensue. Imam Zaman will conquer Jerusalem and finally enter Al-Aqsa Mosque. Abasement and humiliation have always been attributes of the Jews; this will reach its peak during the resurrection of Imam Zaman.”

The official website of women seminaries in Iran has posted a short introduction to a book in which the author explains that according to Quran, the Jews’ animosity toward Islam has been continuing since the birth of Islam. The Wikifegh website which is an Iranian version of Wikipedia dedicated to religious subjects and is managed by the administration of Iranian seminaries has numerous entries about the Jews and Islam. In one post titled “The Jewish faith in Quran,” it describes the Jews as the main enemy of Islam and lists their moral and spiritual decadence. Shia news, another website affiliated with Iranian seminaries also has many posts about the Islamic views of Jews. In one post it predicts their annihilation after the return of twelfth Imam.

The official website of professors of Seminaries also has numerous posts with the adverse representation of the Jews in the Quran. In one post, a professor of seminary claims that the ISIS was created by Jews. The official website of Imam Reza shrine has posted a lengthy report titled: “the infographic of the Jews in the Quran” in which it presents them as the most decadent and immoral people.

The state-run media play a crucial role in disseminating this form of anti-Semitism. For example, Cleric Mohsen Gharati, who is a moral guide on Iranian national television with a weekly program, uses Quran verses and hadith to describe Jews as a symbol of all that is bad and immoral, portraying them as hegemonic people, how they resisted the God’s message or remained enemy of a divine messenger.

Cleric Mohsen Gharati, a moral guide on Iranian national television denigrates the Jewish people

Similarly, Hojatoleslam Ansarian is also a well-known cleric with a weekly program on state-TV. He claims that God is the enemy of the Jews. Other media outlets controlled by the regime are also actively disseminating anti-Semitism. The “Young reporters’ club” a website affiliated with IRGC has posted a speech by an Imam of Friday prayer who claims that “the Jews are the worst people on earth.” This website has posted an “educational” video titled: “The Jews in the Quran” in which the Jewish people are labeled with usual negative stereotypes.  “Tebyan,” a well-known website tied to the IRGC also has a post presenting a harshly negative image of Jewish people. Kayhan, the daily newspaper tied to the Supreme Leader, also has numerous posts stereotyping the Jews.

There are also numerous seminars and conferences held by various organizations and institutions around the country to fuel anti-Jewish hatred. A revealing example was a three-day conference held by several governmental organizations and media outlets tied to IRGC in Tehran at the end of August 2018. During the conference, a speaker told the audience: “Establishing a religious government requires the existence of the three factors of prophets, the Holy Book and people. However, every time the Islamic government was in its formation, the Jews killed the prophets, falsified the Holy Books and manipulated the people’s beliefs in any way possible, preventing the formation of a religious government.”

In another conference titled “Christian Zionists” held in Tehran University, Ahmad Doust Mohamadi, the head of the research institute for Palestinian studies at Tehran University, told the audience: “The United States is affiliated to the Zionist regime, which is responsible for countless crimes and has everything under their control. The United States’ devotion to the Jews is not new. The Jews in the United States do everything to gain power. During history, the Jews dominated the Christians and created Europe and The United States themselves.” During the conference, Mohammad Rajabi, one of the Political Science Professors at Tehran University pointed out to the discovery of The United States by Christopher Columbus and said, “After the discovery, 13 colonial tribes were settled in America, which had the ideology of Zionist Christianity. They believed that several stages must pass before Christ reappears at the end of time. One of these stages is that the Jewish state must be established, and the Jews must return to Palestine.”

There are several “cultural and religious” organizations which are devoted to spreading anti-Jewish hatred. They are mostly tied to the IRGC or Clerical institutions. One of them is the “The Kheybar Center for Study of Zionism.” Its website is filled with anti-Semitic materials. The Center holds seminars and “educational” classes for students, mostly tied to IRGC and Basij organization. A regular speaker at these seminars is the notorious anti-Semite cleric Mehdi Taeb.

Kheybar Center for Study of Zionism regularly holds “educational” classes on Zionism and Jews

Another organization is “the Tech Center for Study of Zionism” which is managed by hardline clerics close to IRGC. The Center’s website is filled with anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist posts, and the center organizes conferences and training courses on Jewish and Zionist studies.

The most important medium used by the Iranian regime to disseminate anti-Semitism is the social media platforms. Hundreds of websites are carrying out this mission targeting a large audience in Iran.  One of the most active among them is the “Jewish Studies Center.” Its website is a popular anti-Semitic forum in Iran and posts the most hateful materials against the Jews.

In the past several years, as the tensions between Iran and its regional rival Saudi Arabia has been mounting, the Iranian regime has started using the media, state-organized rallies and religious platforms to advance a widespread campaign to portray the Saudi royal family as Jewish. Then, reasserting that the Jews are filthy anti-Islamic conspirators and responsible for all the Middle Eastern crisis and blood-shedding, concluding that the Saudis are perpetrators of Jewish conspiracies.

Iranian regime’s campaign to portray the Saudi Royal family as the perpetrators of Jewish conspiracies against Islam

This new campaign of anti-Semitism is well demonstrated in an important speech given by the well-known cleric Alireza Panahian, during a rally staged by IRGC in Tehran in April 2015 in support of the Yemeni Houthi rebels. Below is part of Panahian’s anti-Semitic speech (Here is the Farsi  audio file of Panahian’s speech)

Panahian: “When Prophet Mohammad arrived at Medina, his eminence traded the Jews with the utmost mercy and kindness. Although the Jews in Medina were certain that Mohammad was the last prophet to be sent by God, they did not convert to Islam, and while their denial was punishable, the prophet of Islam treated them with mercy.

Despite all this magnanimity, the Jews betrayed the Prophet a few years later, and he had to endure their betrayal. As a result, Islam confronted them; some of them converted to Islam, some were punished for their betrayal, and some were scattered across the land.

And so, we come to today. Now for the last hundred years, the Jews in the region have been committing atrocities and killing Muslims. We blame anti-Islam Jews and Zionists for the plight of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, and Yemen. We also blame the wealthy Jews and evil Zionists for all the troubles faced by people in Europe and America. Once we save the region from the evil oppression of the anti-Islam Jews, then we will have also saved the people of Europe and America from the oppression of the Zionists.

Even though the people of Europe and America vote in their fake democracies, they are still ruled by Zionists. The people of Europe suffer under the Zionists’ oppression more than anyone else, and they have no escape from the Zionist rule since all the leaders in America and Europe are soldiers and on the payroll of the international Zionism.

God forbid the day that the people of the world finally realize that this is the root of their problems. Lately, all the speculations have finally been proven to us, and there is no doubt that the Saudi royal family is Jewish and followers of the evil Zionists. Dear God, the Kaaba and the city of Medina have been under the occupation of the Zionists for years. Dear God, free the holy land of Mecca and Medina in the hands of the people of Yemen

Enemies of Islam are stupid. If global Zionism, with its base in ominous Israel and its slaves, the Saudis weren’t on the brink of destructions, they wouldn’t have caused Yemen to revolt against them. Oh, the people of Yemen, finish the job and free Mecca and Medina because the path to the liberation of Quds (Jerusalem) passes through Mecca and Medina.”

 

The Zionists

An essential feature of regime-sponsored antisemitism in Iran is the use of Western themes, on top of them, the myth of “global Jewish power,” the Zionist conspiracy to take over the world. While trying to mask their blatant anti-Semitism under the disguise of the fight against Zionism, the Iranian leaders do not differentiate between Jews and Zionists and in some occasions, they interchangeably attack them in one sentence. present-day Zionists are depicted as the continuation of past Jewish communities who plotted against prophet Mohammad and Islam.

During a conference titled: “The Palestinian issue and Zionist regime” held in Tehran in August 2018, Mohammad Taghipour, the head if “pro-Palestine Association” declared: “Nowadays and in diplomatic language, we call them Zionists. We are told not to call them the Jews. But they are Jewish occupiers and act based on Jewish principles and Torah.”

The Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei actively promotes the delusion of “Zionists’ global power” and “their conspiracies.” There is a compilation of SL’s declarations about “Zionists” posted on his website.

During a meeting with Iranian students on October 18, 2017, the Supreme Leader declared: “The US – the US government, the political regime of the US – is obviously a devious and malicious phenomenon. As Imam [Khomeini] pointed out, it is the Great Satan. There is a malicious and dangerous network in the world which is called “Global Zionism,” and the US is its agent. The US is an enemy of independent nations. It is behind much of the viciousness, warmongering, and massacres that exists in our region and in many other regions throughout the world. Like a leech, the US is after sucking nations’ assets and resources. This is the political system of the US today.” In another speech, he said: “Zionism is a threat to all humanity. Today even western governments are under the influence of the Zionists. They too are suffering from the Zionist centers of power and wealth.”

The Supreme Leader’s website is posting his declarations claiming that “The trace of the Zionists in the Incident of 9/11 to demonize Muslims “. “After the September 11 incident— to which there are countless indications of Zionists’ involvement—they rushed to blame Muslims and Islam in order to portray Islam as abhorred and appalled in the eyes of the people of the world.”

Similarly, the official website of the Supreme Leader’s representatives in the Universities has numerous posts about Zionists, their power, conspiracies and plots around the globe.

The government-funded Islamic propaganda organization has a post on its official website about the history of Zionists, including the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Zionists’ power in the world. Similarly, government press, especially those affiliated with IRGC are filled with reports and videos about Zionists and their plots, in the history and in the current time.

There are numerous conferences and seminars in the Iranian universities about Zionists and their conspiracies. The Sharif University held a conference on the subject in which government officials were among the speakers. The Medical Science University in Hamedan held a conference titled “the eradication of Zionist and power of Iran in the regions.” The University of Ilam organized a workshop about Zionism and the library of Ferdowsi University in Mashhad contains a long list of books on Zionism. The University of Bouali Sina in Hamedan organized a conference titled “the Zionists’ media strategy.” Several officials including the top advisor to the Parliament speaker attended the event. During the conference, the “fake Quran that the Jews had fabricated” was exhibited and the speakers discussed the “Jews and Zionists’ efforts to demonize Islam, exterminate the Muslims, slander the prophet and Shia Imams and wage wars.”

The Iranian seminaries are also actively promoting the conspiracy theories about the global power of Jews and Zionists. The Hawzah.net, the main website of seminaries has more than 2000 articles and reports about Zionism. On almost every website related to religious organizations or Grand Ayatollahs, there are numerous posts about the Zionists.

The content of Tehran’s anti-Zionist campaign is best captured in multiple programs that are broadcast on national TV controlled by Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). The documentary channel and educational Channel continuously air two series of so-called documentaries about the Zionists. One documentary is titled ”The secret of Armageddon” aired since 2011 and the other one is called the “Devil’s plan.” these documentaries have several dozen episodes and are re-broadcast by hundreds of websites and online forums which are tied to the regime and IRGC.

One episode of “Devil’s plan” aired on December 2^nd 2018 was about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, promoting the hundred-year-old Russian forgery alleging a Jewish plot to take over the world. The 33rd episode aired on November 18^th claimed that in the early 20^th century, nearly four million Jews immigrated to the US and following a premeditated plan, they moved to California to control Hollywood. The “documentary” claims that currently, %90 of Hollywood is controlled by the Jews and their goal is to control and manipulate the world culture in order to further the Zionists’ evil agenda. Similarly, the 35^th episode claims that Zionist Jews control the global video gaming industry.

 

Myth of Holocaust

Iranian regime is the main supporter of Holocaust denying in the world

In December 2006, the Iranian Foreign Ministry organized the “International Conference on Review of the Holocaust, Global Vision” that gathered notorious Holocaust deniers and white supremacists from around the world. The conference was accompanied by a Cartoon and poster exhibition questioning or denying Holocaust.

Ten years later In May 2016, under the so-called reformist President Hassan Rouhani, Iran held another Holocaust cartoon festival inviting the usual despicable cast of characters from Europe and around the world with the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sending a message to the organizers of the event thanking and congratulating them. The videos and posters presented at the event, questioned and denied the Holocaust and mocked the victims.

As Meir Litvak has pointed out, “Fusing together Islamic and European anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist ideologies, Iran became a disseminator of Holocaust denial in the Middle East and a sponsor of Western Holocaust deniers. Iran’s Holocaust denial, which aims at demolishing the legitimacy of the Jewish state, denies Jewish history and deprives the Jews of their human dignity by presenting their worst tragedy as a scam.”

In January 2016, as the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Ayatollah Khamenei published a video titled “Are the Dark Ages Over” on his official website which included one of his speeches from two years ago in which he questions the reality of the Holocaust. On numerous occasions, the Supreme Leader has questioned the reality of the Holocaust.

the official website of Supreme Leader’s representatives in the Universities has posted a report claiming that the Zionists and the Nazis worked together during the world war II and collaborated to carry out the Holocaust.

In 2006, during a meeting with a group of Air Force servicemen, including senior and commanding officers he declared: “Western countries allow no freedom of expression, which they claim to advocate, with regard to the myth of the massacre of Jews known as the Holocaust, and nobody in the West enjoys the freedom of expression to deny it or raise doubts about it.”

In September 2012 he declared: “Today in many western countries, nobody dares question the Holocaust whose nature is questionable.”

In July 2017 he declared: “The intolerance, shown by the Western and Zionist media and pro-Zionist governments toward even the mere posing of any question concerning the Holocaust- which served as an excuse for the usurpation of Palestine- and research on the topic, is one of the signs of this nervousness and uncertainty.

Denying Holocaust in Iran is not limited to cartoon exhibitions or declarations by the Supreme Leader since it is a large-scale campaign carried out by various organizations, Shia Seminaries, State-controlled media and social media platforms controlled by the regime and IRGC.

The official website od government funded “Islamic propaganda organization” regularly posts Holocaust denying articles. Hawzah.net, the main website of Iranian Seminaries, has more than 250 posts related to Holocaust denying.

Kawthar TV, one of the international channels of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) which broadcast in Iran and across the Middle East in several languages, including Arabic, English, and French, has been regularly producing and airing Holocaust denying videos deemed as documentaries.

Social media platforms tied to the Supreme Leader and IRGC such as Nasr.TV or Roshangari have numerous videos and reports denying the Holocaust. The News agency of Bassij Organization, the para-military branch of IRGC has numerous posts denying the Holocaust. The main website of Bassij has posted a video denying Holocaust. Grand Ayatollahs are no an exception to the rule. Ayatollah Sobhani told the Hawzah.net that “the Holocaust is the Zionists’ biggest lie.”

News website affiliated with IRGC are filled with Holocaust denying articles and videos. Tasnim News, Fars News, Mashregh news, Quds news agency are some of them.

The website of notorious anti-Semitic the “Jewish Studies Center” is filled with Holocaust denying materials.

 

The Cancerous Tumor

The Iranian regime brands itself as the Absolute Clerical Rule, the representative of God on Earth and the guardians of the Islamic faith. It assumes for itself a historical and ideological role to liberate the Muslim Nation from the oppression and domination of the West led by the United States. In this context, Israel is considered as the symbol of Western presence in the Islamic world, like a cancerous tumor that must be eliminated sooner or later.

Iranian regime’s crusade against Israel

According to this narrative, the Islamic world is still at war with the West, as a continuation of the Crusades, an ongoing war between Islam and the West. This worldview was well illustrated in a February 2014 speech by Qassem Soleimani, the chief commander of Iran Quds Force:

“After the fall of Andalusia in 1492, the Islamic world began to decline. During this period of decline, the Ottoman Empire, as a vast Islamic empire that included much of the Islamic world collapsed, and Britain and France fragmented it and divided among themselves. This decline of the Islamic world reached point zero with the fall of Jerusalem in 1967. The Jews conquered the Quds in the heart of the Islamic world. But, with the victory of the Islamic Revolution under the leadership of Imam Khomeini the decline of the Islamic world has stopped, the trend has turned upward, and the Islamic world has begun to rise up again.”

The Iranian regime’s animosity toward Israel is complex and sometimes contradictory. In one hand, Israel is viewed as an instrument of American or Western penetration in the Islamic land. Therefore, America is considered as the Great Satan and Israel the Little Satan. But, in the context of Iranian anti-Zionism campaign, American and the West are the tools of Zionist Jews and Israel.

In Anti-Semitism in Iran: Continuities and Changes, Meir Litvak examines “the modern nature of present-day Iranian anti-Semitism” which “targets the Jewish people as a group as well as Jewish culture and history, and in particular the political manifestation of Judaism, that is Zionism.” According to Litvak, “this new approach fuses anti-Jewish elements from the Quran and early Islamic tradition together with those of modern Western anti-Semitism. It is based on the belief in Jewish enmity towards Islam from its inception and in the association of the Jews and Zionism with the Western cultural challenge and threat to Islam as a religion, identity, and culture. According to Khomeini the Jews and Christians conspired against Islam in the modern period. The Jews joined hands with other groups that were “more satanic than they” in order to facilitate the imperialist penetration of the Muslim countries. Their main goal was the “extirpation of Islam” since “Islam and its ordinances” were the “main obstacle in the path of their materialistic ambitions.”

Whatever the ideological pretext, the animosity toward Israel has been the most enduring pillar of the Iranian regime’s ideology and a cornerstone of its foreign policy for the past four decades. It is an integral part of Iran’s multi-faceted strategy to overcome the Shia-Sunni divide and dominate the Middle East and claim the leadership of the Islamic world.

Since the advent of the Islamic Republic in 1979, the regime has pursued a calculated campaign to portray itself as defenders of Palestine and the flag holder of the struggle against Israel. However, in the 80s, the Palestinian Liberation Organization was dominated by both left-wing and secular groups and therefore posed a threat against Khomeini’s ambitions. In response, International Quds day was initiated by Khomeini in order to Islamize the Palestinian cause and pave the way for Iran to high jack this movement.

In 1982, the Iranian regime established Hezbollah in Lebanon. This was a significant strategic move that radicalized and Islamized the Palestinian cause and helped Iran to expand its military and political influence in the Middle East.

Ayatollah Khomeini met with founding members of Hezbollah and asked them to turn Lebanon into a “Jewish Cemetery”

Khomeini met with a group of Lebanese Shi’ites who were on Iran’s payroll and asked them to set up Hezbollah and turn Lebanon into a Jewish cemetery. In the same year, a brigade from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards was deployed to Lebanon to assist in the establishment of Hezbollah.

How Iran created Hezbollah, IRGC commanders explain

In 1991, the Madrid peace conference was held in an attempt to revive the Israel-Palestine peace process. However, the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameini viewed the possibility of peace in the region as a threat to his regional plans and released a strong statement declaring his opposition to the peace process and recognition of Israel. Iran then formed an opposition movement against the peace process in alliance with Syria and using Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad.

Iranian regime’s opposition to peace process and existence of Israel

These groups backed by the Iranian regime committed tens of act of terrorism around the Middle East and within Israeli soil in order to create warfare situation between Israel and Palestinians. This, in turn, weakened the moderate groups within Palestine and gave the radical groups backed by Iran the upper hand, which then halted the Israel-Palestine peace process. Consequently, Iran became the forefront of the opposition to the two-state solution. For the past several years, Iran has taken a step further, calling for the eradication of Israel.