Homayoun Sameh, a Jewish representative in Iran’s Parliament, criticized Israel for targeting the building during a sacred period: "The Zionist regime (Israel) showed no mercy towards this community during the Jewish holidays and attacked one of our ancient and holy synagogues… Unfortunately, during this attack, the synagogue building was completely destroyed, and Torah scrolls remain under the rubble," he told national broadcaster IRIB.
Adding an international perspective, American journalist and documentary filmmaker Max Blumenthal highlighted the geopolitical implications of the attack on X: "The Jews of Iran were safe… until the US-Israeli terror coalition bombed them. Zionism seeks to destabilize the last major Jewish community in the region that’s outside its control, pushing its members to relocate to the hate-filled, hyper-militarized frontiers of 'Israel.'"
Iran’s Culture Minister Seyyed Abbas Salehi also addressed the attack on X, underlining its broader implications for Iranian society: "The damage and destruction of the Jewish synagogue in central Tehran is bitter and deeply distressing. American-Zionist warmongers have targeted Iran’s religious sites and civilizational heritage; for them, there is no difference between Muslim, Christian, or Jew. They have targeted Iranians; Iran will endure, but they will not last."
Iran’s Jewish population — one of the oldest in the world and the largest in the Middle East outside of Israel — continues to live and worship openly, with its own synagogues, schools, community institutions, and a designated representative in the Iranian Parliament.
In this context, Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref emphasized the historic coexistence of Iran’s diverse religious communities.
"For centuries, Iran has been a safe home to the ringing of church bells and the prayers of Jews alongside the Muslim call to prayer. The attack on the synagogue in Tehran and the church in Isfahan is not an assault on one religion; it is an attack on the heart of Iran and on our legacy of tolerance. I am certain that the deep bond uniting the ethnic and religious communities of this land cannot be severed by such cowardly crimes," Aref said.
The ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran, launched on February 28, has so far killed more than 2,000 people, with hospitals, schools, and other civilian sites also targeted.