Iran’s ambassador to Russia on Wednesday rejected praise among Israeli supporters of Donald Trump as a modern-day Cyrus the Great, citing the US president's support for what he called human rights violations in Gaza.
“One of the officials of the Zionist regime used the phrase ‘Trump as Cyrus the Great,’” Kazem Jalali, said at a ceremony in Moscow on . “Those who call the US president by such a title should be reminded that a person who supports the killing of tens of thousands in Gaza cannot be called a defender of human rights,” he said.
The remarks appeared to answer comments by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, who on Monday called Trump “a giant of Jewish history” and compared him to the ancient Persian ruler.
Ohana made the remarks during Trump’s visit to Jerusalem, where he addressed Israeli lawmakers after brokering a ceasefire in Gaza.
Banners in Tel Aviv posted this week by the Friends of Zion, a Christian organization dedicated to backing Israel, proclaimed "Cyrus is Alive!" alongside Trump's picture.
Cyrus is revered as a powerful ancient ruler by Iranians and remembered fondly in the Jewish tradition for ending the so-called Babylonian Captivity of Jews when his forces conquered that empire and allowed exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem.
A decree after his conquest recorded on an ancient artifact called the Cyrus Cylinder created in 539 BC enshrined aspects of religious freedom and has been hailed as the first bill of human rights.
Trump received a hero’s welcome in Israel this week after helping to secure a truce that ended two years of war in Gaza and freed the last living Israeli hostages. During his visit, he signed a Gaza ceasefire deal at a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh and said US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities had “obliterated” the program.
“The bully of the Middle East has been taken down,” Trump said, adding that Iran “will not return to the nuclear world again.”
Iran has denied pursuing nuclear weapons and accused Israel of misleading the US president into authorizing the attacks. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that Trump had been “badly fed the fake line” that Iran was close to producing a bomb.
Araghchi wrote on X that Trump was “being misled by the same warmongers who derailed American diplomacy with Iran for many years.” He said the US could not call for peace while leading military action against Iran and reinstating sanctions.
“The real bully of the Middle East, Mr. President, is the same parasitic actor that has long been bullying and milking the United States,” he wrote, referring to Israel.
