Iranian media claimed Tuesday that a synagogue in central Tehran sustained significant damage following what it said was an attack by Israeli fighter jets.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it was looking into the matter, the Israel Defense Forces had no comment, and an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Israel does not target synagogues.

Multiple Iranian news sources reported on the alleged strike on the Rafi Niya synagogue. In an internal report, Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry said visual documentation ostensibly from the scene showed rescuers working through piles of rubble and debris, with photographs capturing scattered religious books and damaged interior fixtures. The ministry’s internal report noted that the claim the synagogue was damaged is supported “by several sources, albeit all of them Iranian.”

The AP news agency reported that “video from the site showed rescuers moving around and what looked like a book of Hebrew scripture in the rubble.”

Iranian media asserted that Israel “deliberately attacked” the religious site. State-run IRNA news agency initially suggested the synagogue may have been caught in the blast radius of a strike aimed at an adjacent building in its location near Palestine Street. The intensity of the explosion “caused at least five neighboring residential blocks to suffer extensive damage,” IRNA said.

However, it also said that the site was “targeted by Israeli jets,” and showed footage of what it said was the site, “damaged by the enemy.”

A Jewish synagogue in center of Tehran was damaged by the enemy at 4 a.m. on Tuesday.Debris removal operations are ongoing. pic.twitter.com/AJuFAptTFV — IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) April 7, 2026

A Jewish synagogue in center of Tehran was damaged by the enemy at 4 a.m. on Tuesday.Debris removal operations are ongoing. pic.twitter.com/AJuFAptTFV

— IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) April 7, 2026

The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem was looking into the reports, an official told The Times of Israel, while the IDF had no immediate comment.

An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that “Israel doesn’t target synagogues. Anyone claiming otherwise thinks you’re gullible.” The official spoke off the record, and there has been no direct Israeli comment on the incident.

In response to an inquiry from The Times of Israel, the Prime Minister’s Office stated: “Iran is firing missiles at civilians, Israel is striking terror infrastructure. Missiles on civilians versus precision strikes on terror targets. That’s the difference.”

A few hours ago, the Jewish synagogue near Palestine Street in Tehran was targeted by Israeli fighter jets. This synagogue, located near Palestine Square, is known as "Rafi Niya Synagogue," and a significant part of it has been destroyed as a result of the Israeli attack. pic.twitter.com/dBXApQ3omi — IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) April 7, 2026

A few hours ago, the Jewish synagogue near Palestine Street in Tehran was targeted by Israeli fighter jets.

This synagogue, located near Palestine Square, is known as "Rafi Niya Synagogue," and a significant part of it has been destroyed as a result of the Israeli attack. pic.twitter.com/dBXApQ3omi

— IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) April 7, 2026

IRNA reported that a “significant part” of the Jewish house of worship was destroyed in the attack, which it said occurred around 4 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Other sources, including the Shargh daily and Al Jazeera, said the building was “completely destroyed,” the Diaspora Affairs Ministry’s internal report said, noting that this was likely for propaganda purposes.

Homayoun Sameh, the Jewish community’s representative in the Iranian Parliament and head of the Jewish Association in Tehran, blamed Israel for the attack in an interview with state media.

“Unfortunately, during the Jewish holidays, the Israeli entity targeted us and did not even spare Jews in Iran, as it struck one of our old and sacred synagogues,” he said in a statement. As a result of the attack, the synagogue building was completely destroyed, and the Torah scrolls remained under the rubble, he said.

Iran’s Jews are frequently used as mouthpieces by the Iranian regime, making it difficult to gauge the community’s real sentiments, analysts have noted.

Meanwhile, a source connected with the Iranian community told The Times of Israel that some believe the synagogue was targeted by the Islamic Republic itself, as part of an internal propaganda effort.

“Such actions are consistent with tactics that aim to create fear and confusion among the public,” the source said, claiming the state was staging incidents of sabotage to fuel hostility toward Israel and the US.

Iranian outlet Mehr News Agency says a Jewish synagogue in central Tehran was badly damaged during US-Israeli airstrikes. pic.twitter.com/giRLdw0xsr Advertisement if(typeof rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner != "function" || !rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner("#336x280_Middle_3")){ window.tude = window.tude || { cmd: [] }; tude.cmd.push(function() { if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf("rgbmedia-app") > -1){ tude.setDeviceType("mobile"); } tude.refreshAdsViaDivMappings([ { divId: '336x280_Middle_3', baseDivId: '336x280_Middle_3', } ]); }); } — Clash Report (@clashreport) April 7, 2026

Iranian outlet Mehr News Agency says a Jewish synagogue in central Tehran was badly damaged during US-Israeli airstrikes. pic.twitter.com/giRLdw0xsr

— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 7, 2026

Iran’s Jewish community is estimated at between 8,000 and 15,000, with most located in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz. Prior to the Islamic Revolution in 1979, there were some 100,000 Jews in the country. Iran still has the second-largest Jewish population of any country in the Middle East, after Israel.

About 25 synagogues are believed to remain in Iran, sources indicate, as well as several kosher restaurants, an old-age home, a cemetery, and a Jewish library.

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