Netanyahu faking history, Jewish faith, says Iran FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. (AP file photo)

TEHRAN: Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran鈥檚 foreign minister, accused Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli premier, of ignorance about history and the Jewish faith on Monday after he said ancient Persian rulers tried to destroy the Jews.
In a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Russian president, in Moscow, Netanyahu said Persia had made 鈥渁n attempt to destroy the Jewish people that did not succeed鈥� some 2,500 years ago, an event commemorated by the Jewish holiday of Purim over the weekend.
Zarif responded on Twitter, calling Netanyahu鈥檚 comments 鈥渂igoted lies鈥� and saying Iran had saved the Jews on three occasions in history.
鈥淣etanyahu resorting to fake history and falsifying Torah. Force of habit,鈥� he tweeted.
He linked to longer comments in which he said the Israeli premier 鈥渄istorts the realities of today, but also distorts the past 鈥� including Jewish scripture.鈥�
鈥淭he Book of Esther tells how Xerxes I saved Jews from a plot hatched by Haman the Agagite, which is marked on this very day.
鈥淎gain, during the time of Cyrus the Great, an Iranian king saved the Jews 鈥� this time from captivity in Babylon; and during the Second World War, when Jews were being slaughtered in Europe, Iran gladly took them in,鈥� Zarif wrote.
Netanyahu had sought to link ancient history to the present day, saying Iran was again seeking 鈥渢o destroy the state of the Jews.鈥�
Putin tried to return the conversation to the present day, saying the events described took place 鈥渋n the fifth century B.C. We now live in a different world. Let us talk about that now.鈥�
Ever since the revolution of 1979, Iran has been implacable in its opposition to Israel and has provided extensive support to Palestinian militant groups.
Iranian officials say they oppose the state not the people, and underline that Iran has its own Jewish community.