US condemns Iranian Supreme Leader’s “Zionist merchants” tweet

The United States has condemned claims made by the Supreme Leader of Iran, who said that the West is a mafia-like organisation under the control of “prominent Zionist merchants”.

The US Antisemitism Envoy, Deborah Lipstadt, responded to tweets issued by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said that “The western powers are a mafia. The reality of this power is a mafia. At the top of this mafia stand the prominent Zionist merchants, and the politicians obey them. The US is their showcase, and they’re spread out everywhere.”

Ms Lipstadt tweeted: “We denounce this continued, egregious antisemitism. This rhetoric is unacceptable – not to mention dangerous – especially from a head of state. It must cease.”

The Islamic Republic of Iran says that its interest is in the destruction of Israel and Zionism, claiming that “Eliminating the Zionist regime doesn’t mean eliminating Jews”. Despite this, commentators have frequently pointed out that the regime’s rhetoric, especially under the administration of the former President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which has been adopted by many of its political allies, merely replaces the word “Jew” with the word “Zionist” when circulating antisemitic conspiracy theories.

According to the US-based group, Secure Community Network (SCN), the massive rise in antisemitic hate crimes during the May 2021 conflict between Israel and the genocidal antisemitic terror group Hamas is partially explained by the “explosion of disinformation” on social media, which SCN attributes to Iran.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.