In case anyone doubts our story or Jewish history, know that the Iranians do not. Tehran’s representative to the Iranian parliament, Zohreh Lajevardi, referenced the Purim story in an interview with Iran’s Fars News Agency on Sunday:

“The Zionist regime is the sworn enemy of Iran and Iranians, and this enmity, without any connection to the ruling regime in Iran, has a long history, so that the Zionists still celebrate Purim every year on the anniversary of the brutal massacre of the Iranian people. But with the victory of the revolution, this enmity became so public, so much so that a brief look at the events of the last 40 years proves well that this vicious regime is the sworn enemy of Iran and Iranians.”

Only last year, the tomb of Esther and Mordechai, located north of Shush in Hamedan, Iran, was torched. Threats to damage or destroy the tomb are often made. The identity of those who torch and otherwise threaten the tomb are unknown, and no effort is made to find and punish the miscreants.

Iranian officials often use the Purim stories to spread Jew-hatred and for political purposes, as well. Back in 2011, the head of the Student Basij Organization in Hamedan, speaking to Fars, explained Purim as an “Iranian holocaust,” detailing how the “corrupt” Esther massacred some 75,000 “innocent” Iranians.