Iran rejects anti-Semitism allegation by Pence
Iran on Saturday rejected accusations of anti-Semitism
leveled against it by US Vice President Mike Pence, saying it respected Judaism
but opposed Israel, which Tehran said was acting like a “killing machine
against the Palestinians,” according to Reuters.
Pence accused Iran of Nazi-like anti-Semitism on Friday
after visiting the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, maintaining his
harsh rhetoric just a day after attacking European powers for trying to
undermine US sanctions on Iran.
“Iran’s historic and cultural record of coexistence and
respect for divine religions, particularly Judaism, is recorded in reliable
historic documents of various nations,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Bahram Qasemi said.
“The principle that underlies our foreign policy is the
aggressive and occupying nature of the Zionist regime (Israel)..., which is a
killing machine against the Palestinian people,” Qasemi said, according the
ministry’s website.
Speaking to Germany’s Der Spiegel Online, Iranian Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described Pence’s accusation as “laughable,”
adding, “Iran has always supported the Jews. We are just against Zionists. The
Holocaust was a disaster.”
Iran’s ancient Jewish community has slumped to an estimated
10,000-20,000 from 85,000 at the time of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, but it is
believed to be the biggest in the Middle East outside Israel.
A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander in January
threatened Israel, which Iran does not recognize, with destruction if it
attacks Iran, state media reported.
The United States is seeking to isolate Tehran. It reimposed
economic sanctions last year after pulling out of the landmark 2015 Iran accord
with world powers aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
The European Union is trying to keep the nuclear deal alive,
however, and has developed a mechanism to open a channel to continue trade with
Iran, drawing sharp criticism of Brussels from Pence on Thursday.