In a February 7, 2020 statement condemning U.S. President Donald Trump's "Deal of the Century," the central office of the student Basij organization at the universities in Iran's Hamedan Province stressed that if the U.S. and Israel implemented even one section of the peace deal, it would turn the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamedan city, where the remains of the heroes of the story of the Jewish holiday of Purim are believed to be buried, into a Palestinian diplomatic mission. It went on to promise that Muslims and seekers of freedom in the world would not sit idly by in light of the "satanic operation" of the deal, and called it "the greatest betrayal in contemporary history."
Two days later, on February 9, the government organization for the heritage of Hamedan Province rejected the Basij threat, saying that the tomb, a cultural site, has "no connection" to a Palestinian diplomatic mission, which is a political site.
Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamedan. Source: ISNA, Iran, February 9, 2020
Subsequently, the student Basij in Hamedan criticized the heritage organization, accusing its directors of indifference to the "Israelization of Jerusalem."
The following are translated main points from all three statements:
Student Basij Organization Of Hamedan Universities: You "Will Not Find A Place Called The Tomb Of Esther And Mordechai In Hamedan, Because We Will Turn This Site Into A Palestinian Mission"
As noted, on February 7, 2020, the central office of the Basij organization of the universities of Hamedan Province in Iran released a statement condemning President Trump's "Deal of the Century" and threatened to turn the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamedan city into a Palestinian diplomatic mission. The statement read in part:
"The recent satanic operation, by the president of the terrorist regime of the U.S. and the aggressive Zionist regime, unveiling the cruel plan of the Deal of the Century constitutes a blatant betrayal of the oppressed Palestinian Muslim people. It will bring in its wake disregard of the true rights of the oppressed Palestinian people, the slicing up of their homeland into many pieces, the assurance of the plundering Zionist regime's sovereignty in the territory it has occupied,[1] the cancellation of the return of the uprooted [Palestinian refugees], and a list of acts of exploitation and aggression against heroic Palestine.
"This [plan] is one of the greatest betrayals in contemporary history, which cannot be accepted in silence... The problem of the oppressed Palestinian people will always remain the Islamic world’s most important problem... This satanic deal will not ensure any security or stability for the Israeli regime... The Muslim peoples and the oppressed, freedom-seeking societies in the world will not remain silent in light of this deal and will support the Palestinian people from every part of the world. They will not agree to this accursed deal... and will not allow it to trample any right of the oppressed public. This deal will light the fire of rage and resentment more than at any other time in the 70-year history of the anti-Zionist resistance...
"We warn America, and the Zionist regime, that the first outcome of a move to actualize their devious desires vis-à-vis Palestine and Jerusalem is that following it they will not find a place called the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamedan, because we will turn this site into a Palestinian [diplomatic] mission, with God's help and with the defeat of this latest scheme and the realization of the promise of the fall of the racist, child-murdering Zionist regime. With your own eyes, you will see how this promise is fulfilled."[2]
Chairman Of Organization For The Heritage Of Hamedan Province: "No Connection" Between The Tomb And A Palestinian Diplomatic Mission
In a February 9, 2020 interview with the ISNA news agency, Ali Malmir, chairman of the organization for the heritage of Hamedan Province, rejected the Basij statement. He clarified: "There is no connection between the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai, which is a historical site, and a Palestinian [diplomatic] mission, which is a political matter."[3]
Basij Responds To Hamedan Heritage Organization Chairman: Jerusalem Is The Cultural Heritage Of The Islamic World
In response to the statements by chairman Malmir, Tayyeb Faryad-Ras, head of the Basij at the Hamedan Province universities, told the ISNA news agency on February 10: "The organization for the heritage of Hamedan Province must explain whether there is a connection between Jerusalem and Israelization. Why isn't this organization reacting to the fact that Jerusalem is the cultural heritage of the Islamic world and the Middle East?"[4]
Tayyeb Faryad-Ras (Source: ISNA, Iran, February 10, 2020)
