In the early morning of Tuesday, 6 April 2026, the Israeli regime carried out heavy strikes against the “Rafi’nia” Synagogue (known as the Khorasanis’ Synagogue) on Fariman Street in Tehran, completely destroying the entire building of this historically significant synagogue. During these attacks, the Torah scrolls, sacred books, and holy objects inside the synagogue were destroyed or severely damaged, sparking outrage among Jews in Iran and around the world. Although attacks on residential areas, universities, hospitals, schools, sports stadiums, bridges, railway lines, refineries, petrochemical facilities, desalination plants, parks, markets, historical sites, cultural heritage, and other installations essential to the survival of the civilian population during the aggressive war of the United States and the Israeli regime have demonstrated that there are no red lines for their international crimes; nevertheless, the military attack on a Jewish synagogue is worthy of reflection from various dimensions. In this regard, from a legal perspective, four explanatory points can be raised:

First: Places of worship and religious sites enjoy immunity under international humanitarian law. This immunity has been emphasized in binding instruments of international humanitarian law, including the four Geneva Conventions (1949) and their Additional Protocols, as well as in the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, and in a number of resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly. Article 16 of the “Second Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of June 1977,” under the section “Protection of Cultural Objects and Places of Worship,” states: “Without prejudice to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, it is prohibited to commit any act of hostility directed against places of worship or to use them for military purposes.” Moreover, the practice of the International Criminal Court confirms that attacks on religious sites and places of worship, in addition to constituting an insult to religious sanctities, amount to a war crime if these sites are deliberately targeted and have not objectively become a military objective.

Second: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the two International Covenants of 1966 on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights emphasize freedom of religion and belief as a manifestation of human rights, the right of individuals to perform their religious rites, and the right of access to places of worship for religious education and expression. Therefore, bombing places of worship constitutes a violation of the religious rights and human rights of followers of divine religions. The “Rafi’nia Synagogue,” belonging to the Tehran Jewish Association, was one of the active synagogues of the Jewish community, which for years hosted hundreds of Iranian Jews who have now, due to this crime by the Israeli regime, lost their historic place of worship during the Passover holiday.

Third: Following increased international criticism, the Israeli regime claimed that the Jewish synagogue was not the main target of the attack. This is while, firstly, there was no proven military objective in the vicinity of the synagogue; secondly, the extensive and complete destruction of the synagogue building demonstrates that the main target of the attack was its annihilation. In fact, this attack is a form of retaliation by the Israeli regime against the Jews of Iran and all Jews who oppose the anti-human ideology of Zionism. The Jewish community of Iran is one of the oldest Iranian communities, having played a role in the construction of the glorious history of Iran for thousands of years. Despite the negative propaganda of American and Hebrew-language media, Jews in Iran enjoy freedom and religious, cultural, and linguistic rights. In addition to having dozens of active synagogues, they also have a representative in the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis). Iranian Jews have repeatedly expressed their disgust at the crimes of the Zionist regime in the region, especially in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran, and this very issue has caused hatred and anger among the leaders of the Tel Aviv regime. Accordingly, “Homayoun Sameh Yah Najafabadi,” the representative of the Jewish community in the Iranian parliament, has stated: “The Zionist regime, being aware of the views of the Tehran Jewish community, namely its anti-Zionist stance, intended to take revenge on the Jewish community of Iran through this criminal act, but this issue will not cause our community to back down.”

Fourth: Over recent decades, the Israeli regime has compiled a dark record of attacks on and destruction of mosques and churches, which constitute a grave violation of the fundamental principles of international law and amount to cultural genocide. Dozens of mosques have been destroyed in Israeli attacks in Palestine, particularly during the two years of genocide in Gaza. Churches in Palestine have also not been spared from the fire of Israeli attacks. For example, during the Gaza war after 7 October 2023, historic churches were attacked by Israel. Among these, on 19 October 2023, in Israeli attacks on the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City, dozens of Christians and Muslims were martyred or wounded. In July 2025, the Catholic Church of the Holy Family in the Gaza Strip was “directly” targeted by an Israeli tank shell, resulting in a number of martyrs and wounded. Furthermore, according to reports of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the religious freedom of Christians in Palestine has repeatedly been violated by the Israeli regime under various pretexts. Nonetheless, alongside the Israeli regime’s attacks on dozens of mosques, the Isfahan church, and the Armenian quarter in Majidiyeh, Tehran; the attack on the Jewish synagogue carried a particular message: that alongside mosques, Husayniyyas, and churches, even synagogues are not immune from the Israeli regime’s war crimes. This demonstrates that the belligerent ideology of Zionism has no connection to the Jewish religion. Therefore, the Equalization of “anti-Zionism” with “anti-Semitism” by Israel and the United States aims to eliminate any opposition to Zionist ideology — examples of which the world witnessed in the suppression of hundreds of students protesting the Gaza genocide at American universities. The attacks on synagogues show that, in the view of the Tel Aviv regime, there is no difference between Muslim, Christian, or Jew in opposing Zionism; and that this regime is willing to commit war crimes against all of them. This is clear evidence that Zionism is the enemy of all monotheistic religions.

*Dr. Ahmad Kazemi, Professor of International Law at the University