Outcast Iranian cleric: Israel belongs to the Jewish people

A former Iranian ayatollah, who spoke with Israeli TV earlier this week and called for an end to hostilities between the countries, has said he believes Israel belongs to the Jewish people.

In a conversation with the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani quoted two Quranic verses that he said prove the clear connection of Jews to the land — Sura Asra 8: “If you return to the religion of Moses, then God will return you to the holy land”; and Sura Maedeh 21: “O children of Israel, enter this holy land.”

He also asserted that “the majority of Iranian people do not hate Israel.”

Earlier this week, Masoumi-Tehrani told Channel 12 news it was time to end the enmity between the nations. The cleric, who has had the honor of the “ayatollah” title revoked by Tehran due to his disagreements with the regime, said he has “no problem” with the Jewish state.