The Israeli army expressed its regret on Tuesday for the damage caused to a synagogue in Tehran following an overnight airstrike, which it said targeted “a high-ranking Iranian military commander”, reports AFP.
“Last night (Monday to Tuesday), the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out an attack targeting a high-ranking commander within Khatam al-Anbiya (Iranian Armed Forces Command),” an Israeli army spokesman said in response to a question from AFP.
“The results of this attack are being analyzed,” the spokesman said, assuring that “measures were taken to reduce the risk to civilians” and mentioning in this regard “the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance.”
The Israeli army “regrets the collateral damage caused to the synagogue and emphasizes that the attack targeted an important military objective within the regime's armed forces, and not a place of worship,” he added.
On Tuesday morning, Iran's Mehr news agency and Shargh daily reported that the Rafi Niya Synagogue, near Palestine Square in central Tehran, was “completely destroyed” following the bombing of the Iranian capital.
The Shargh newspaper described it as “one of the most important places of gathering and celebration for Khorasanite Jews,” referring to the Khorasan region in eastern Iran.
Shia Islam is the state religion in Iran. Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity are minority religions and are represented in the Iranian Parliament.
The Jewish community is now estimated at several thousand people, compared to about 100,000 when the Islamic Republic was proclaimed in 1979.
Members of the Iranian Jewish community inspect what is left of their synagogue in Tehran after Israel bombed it. On Passover… pic.twitter.com/UO775jygfm
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) April 7, 2026
