US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Tuesday “completely destroyed” a Jewish synagogue in central Tehran, Iranian media has reported, as the bombing campaign continues to hit places of worship and other civilian targets.
Photos and videos of the aftermath show that the damage at the Rafi-Nia Synagogue, and Hebrew-language religious books are seen in the rubble. According to Iran’s Mehr news agency, the synagogue was destroyed in an attack on an adjacent residential building.
The bombing highlights the small Jewish community in Iran, which is estimated to consist of nearly 10,000 people, whose leaders are known for their anti-Zionism. “The Zionist regime, together with the US, has destroyed one of our main places of worship,” Homayoun Sameh, a Jewish member of the Iranian parliament, told Iran’s PressTV at the scene of the strike.
“The position of Iranian Jews has always been anti-Zionist, and they condemn the actions of the Zionist regime against Palestine and other oppressed countries. That is why they are hostile toward us and have begun to destroy our religious sites,” he added.
According to the Israeli news site Ynet, Iran’s Jewish community released an official statement that condemned what it called the “brutal attacks carried out by the American-Israeli enemy against our beloved homeland and the Rafi-Nia synagogue.”
“We declare that we will stand by the people and the regime until our last breath to defend our homeland,” the statement added.
Multiple mosques and Muslim prayer halls have been hit by the US-Israeli bombing campaign, and at least one church has been damaged: the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Tehran. Iran is also home to hundreds of thousands of Christians.
