A hardline commentator on Iranian state television alleged that the Baha'i minority in Iran holds secret allegiance to Israel, in comments which appear to reinforce official enmity toward the group as state persecution continues.
“The Baha'i sect has an unbreakable bond with Zionism. Don’t be fooled by their Iranian origins,” Ali Shirazi said in a television program later shared on social media on Tuesday.
“Baha'i and Israel are one and the same, not two separate entities at all.”
The remarks came a day after the Baha’i International Community raised concerns about intensifying crackdown on members of the faith inside Iran, including what it called coordinated operations in at least six provinces.
“At least 22 Bahais had their homes and businesses subjected to invasive searches, threats, and interrogations," the group posted on X Monday. "Agents confiscated personal belongings and electronic devices, sealed workplaces, and arrested or detained individuals in unknown locations.”
'Baseless hate-mongering'
A spokesperson for the Baha'i International Community condemned the anti-Bahai commentary on Iran's state TV, saying they reflect the deep-seated hostility of Iranian authorities.
“When examining the historical backdrop of such hate-mongering, it has always taken different directions in different eras. At times, Baha'is have been labeled spies; when nationalist sentiments were strong, they were called anti-nationalist; elsewhere, anti-religious,” said Vesaq Sanaei, the community’s spokesperson in Sydney, in a phone interview with Iran International on Wednesday.
“Interestingly, the constant shifting of direction, topic, and examples shows there's no foundation beyond hate-mongering—its sole aim is to divide people. This is well-precedented, and unfortunately, it’s being pursued in various forms across multiple platforms,” Sanaei added.
Baha'i activist and filmmaker Sepehr Atefi also responded to the video on Wednesday, calling on Iranians to stand in solidarity with the Baha'i minority.
“Everything points to the Islamic Republic’s serious resolve to destroy Iran’s Baha'i community through repression, imprisonment, and economic pressure, using the same false, outdated accusations that lack any evidence,” Atefi posted on X.
“Today, more than ever, we need the solidarity of the entire Iranian society with Baha'is in Iran,” he added.
Asked whether a commentator’s speech on state television carries the same weight as that of an official, Sanaei said the platform legitimizes such messaging.
“When an official platform is given to someone who, without evidence, reason, or documentation, unleashes such volumes of lies and hate—and you see this at every level, even the highest, where ‘experts’ are invited or introduced to do the same—whether they hold office or not, it’s cause for concern,” he said.
“It justifies and normalizes oppression and suppression, erodes sensitivity to injustice and tyranny, and—worst of all—harms Iran’s social cohesion,” Sanaei added.
Not recognized
Iran does not recognize the Baha'i Faith as an official religion, and its followers have faced persecution and prosecution since 1979. Accusations linking Baha'is to Israel are often used by authorities to portray them as hostile to the state.
The Baha'i Faith’s spiritual and administrative world center is located in Haifa and Acre, Israel, which includes sacred sites such as the Shrine of the Bab.
Iranian Baha'i community has faced systematic repression, arrests, and nearly 1,500 years in combined prison sentences over the past five years, US-based rights group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on August.
The Baha'i Faith emerged in 19th-century Persia, challenging Islamic orthodoxy with its teachings on universal religion and progressive revelation.
Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has recently come under public scrutiny in Iran after a leaked video showed his daughter’s lavish wedding featuring unveiled women, Western-style celebrations and his daughter the bride.
“You are the same person who, in January 1979 in Ahvaz, along with your accomplice Mohsen Rezaei, assassinated Malek Mohammad Boroujerdi, my father,” Boroujerdi wrote on Instagram on Monday, addressing Shamkhani.
Boroujerdi appeared on Iran International on Tuesday, elaborating on his accusations against senior Iranian officials, including Shamkhani and former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Mohsen Rezaei.
“The Mansouron Group, formed in 1975 by figures such as Mohsen Rezaei, Shamkhani and others created a terrorist cell that carried out assassinations in Khuzestan province, including my father’s killing in the city of Ahvaz,” Boroujerdi said.
Mansouroun was one of seven Islamist groups active before the 1979 revolution that later joined together to form the core of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. The group, led by figures including Mohsen Rezai, united with six others — Towhidi Saf, Towhidi Badr, Falagh, Ommat-e Vahida, Saheban-e Safa, and Mo’tahedin-e Eslam — to establish the force that became the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“Ayatollah Khomeini had urged oil company employees to strike, aiming to cripple the Shah’s oil-dependent economy. My father opposed this strategy for toppling the Shah’s government," he added.
"As a member of oil company management, he and others were placed on an assassination list circulated in Ahvaz mosques and executed in January."
Mehrzad Boroujerdi is a professor of political science at the Missouri University of Science and Technology and the author of the book ‘Iranian Intellectuals and the West.’
Shamkhani, a former secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and now a member of the Expediency Council, has long been a key figure in Iran’s security establishment. He also serves as the Supreme Leader’s representative on the National Defense Council.
He and his family have come under intense criticism by dissidents for their apparent wealth and influence as many Iranians struggle with costs of living wrought by corruption, mismanagement and sanctions from Western foes of Tehran's policies.
Hossein, his son, has been described in a series of reports by Bloomberg as a key overseer of Iran's efforts to circumvent sanctions, enriching himself in the process. Shamkhani the younger has insisted he is a legitimate businessman.
“Over the past 45 years, most senior military and security positions in the Islamic Republic have been held by members of the Mansouron Group including Shamkhani, Rezaei, and Gholam Ali Rashid (who was killed in an Israeli attack),” Boroujerdi said.
The Mansouron Group was an Iranian guerrilla organization active in the 1960s and 1970s, primarily in Khuzestan province, opposing the Pahlavi regime through armed struggle and political activism.
Formed around 1969, it later merged with other militant groups and played a role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.