TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that Iran has saved Jews three times in its history, noting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is resorting to fake history.

“To sell bigoted lies against a nation which has saved Jews 3 times, Netanyahu resorting to fake history and falsifying Torah. Force of habit,” Zarif tweeted on Sunday.

“Once again Benjamin Netanyahu not only distorts the realities of today, but also distorts the past — including Jewish scripture. It is truly regrettable that bigotry gets to the point of making allegations against an entire nation which has saved Jews three times in its history,” the chief diplomat noted.

He added, “The Book of Esther tells of how Xerxes I saved Jews from a plot hatched by Haman the Agagite, which is marked on this very day; again, during the time of Cyrus the Great, an Iranian king saved the Jews -- this time from captivity in Babylon; and during the Second World War, when Jews were being slaughtered in Europe, Iran gladly took them in.”

On Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani also said, “Apparently, [Netanyahu] is neither acquainted with history, nor has read the Torah.” He added Netanyahu “has distorted the Iranians’ pre-Islam historical era and attempted to misrepresent events. Of course, nothing more than presenting such lies is expected from a wicked Zionist.”

In a meeting with Russian President Putin in Moscow on Friday, Netanyahu claimed, “Persia made an attempt to destroy the Jewish people that did not succeed nearly 2,500 years ago, today there is an attempt by Persia’s heir, Iran, to destroy the state of the Jews.”

NA/PA