Jewish deputy in Iranian parliament: Iran comes first

The deputy of the Iranian Jewish minority, Manouchehr Eliyasi, said he opposes the establishment of any political relations between Jews in Iran and those in Israel.

In an interview with al-Hayat, he said that the Israeli government's policies are racist, adding that what concerns Iran's Jews is the good of Iran, adding that Iranian Jews are a part of the revolution and of the Islamic state.

He added, "We are the 35,000 Jews in Iran, deployed in all the cities. Our rituals are freely practiced. We have our private schools where we study the Hebrew language. These schools are administrated by the state, and we have also our social organizations."

He also stated that Iranian Jews have an organization that takes care of their interests and is strongly linked with governmental circles. He said the Iranian government allows Jews "to handle our personal affairs according to our religion, and if we are hit with obstacles, the governmental circles handle it."

The Iranian constitution specified five parliamentary seats for Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians.