Iran’s systematic denial of the Holocaust has become a recurring theme in the Islamic Republic’s domestic and foreign policy messaging. At repeated intervals, leaders, official spokespeople, state-run media, and affiliated academics actively question or outright deny the historic reality of the murder of six million Jews by Nazi Germany, casting the Holocaust as a fabrication to justify the existence of the State of Israel.
This practice has been institutionalized since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and successive Iranian presidents—including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad—Iran has advanced Holocaust denial as both a rhetorical tool and an ideological weapon. Ahmadinejad, in particular, sparked international outrage with statements dismissing the Holocaust’s occurrence and questioning European policies that accept its factuality. “If it had happened,” he claimed, “Europe should have offered territory to the Zionists.” These positions reflect deep-seated enmity towards Israel and a long-term campaign to undermine its legitimacy on the world stage.
Iran’s output of Holocaust denial is not confined to political speeches. It includes government-sanctioned academic books, regular media commentary, and educational curricula. Works such as ‘The Holocaust: Myth or Reality?’ are published and distributed within Iran, advancing the idea that the Holocaust is a deliberate Zionist fabrication or, outrageously, that Nazi Germany and Jewish organizations collaborated. Such content is prominently displayed in Iranian bookstores and schools, cementing denialism within national discourse.
The regime’s rationale is disturbingly clear: by erasing or casting doubt on the Holocaust, Khamenei and his advisors seek to strip the Jewish people and the State of Israel of their modern international standing and moral authority. According to their ideology, proving the Holocaust to be “a lie” would fundamentally undermine Israel’s legitimacy as a sovereign nation.
Holocaust denial in Iran serves multiple strategic objectives:
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Delegitimizing Israel: By disputing the events that galvanized world support for the re-establishment of Jewish sovereignty after World War II, Iran attempts to recast Israel as a colonial project with no historical cause.
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Fomenting Antisemitism: Iranian leaders, through orchestrated efforts, work to instill and legitimize anti-Jewish cliches involving conspiracies and historic manipulation, contributing directly to the global rise of antisemitic sentiment.
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Obstructing Peace: By refusing to acknowledge Jewish suffering and dismissing Israel’s existence as a post-Holocaust necessity, Iran discourages any movement toward moderation or reconciliation within its network of regional proxies and partners. The regime’s public denialism emboldens groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, who are directly linked to Tehran and actively promote armed struggle against Israel.
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Undermining Historical Scholarship: The campaign to undermine one of the world’s best-documented atrocities is intended to create doubt in objective facts, weakening educational and memorial efforts worldwide and emboldening revisionists elsewhere.
The consequences of Iran’s campaign are global and deeply consequential. During the October 7, 2023 massacre—the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust itself—Iranian-sponsored Hamas terrorists murdered and abducted Israeli civilians in an act of barbarism widely condemned by democratic nations. Tehran’s leadership responded not with empathy, but with renewed anti-Israel propaganda, further inverting historical reality by casting Israel’s self-defense as aggression and occupation.
The regime’s actions have drawn condemnation from international bodies. The United Nations passed a resolution in 2006 reaffirming the historical reality of the Holocaust and condemning denial, with repeated follow-ups from the European Union and world leaders urging Iran to cease the promotion of such dangerous fabrications. Iran, however, has stood firm—bolstered by the ideological convictions of Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran’s commitment to Holocaust denial is not a lone initiative. It forms part of a broader ideological and military campaign—led by Iran and executed by its network of proxies—against Israel and Jews worldwide. Through coordinated media strategies and official statements, Holocaust denial is amplified across the region, mainstreamed in sympathetic media, and provided academic cover through pseudo-scholarly conferences and publications.
Israel’s government and civil society respond to such rhetoric by reinforcing Holocaust education, commemorating survivors, and publicizing first-hand accounts of Nazi atrocities. Israeli officials, backed by leading historians and Holocaust memorial institutions, warn that Holocaust denial is not only an affront to the memory of the victims and the broader Jewish community, but also a form of incitement that increases the likelihood of future genocidal violence.
The broader international community faces the challenge of counteracting denialism not just in Iran, but wherever it spreads. This means bolstering historical education, isolating and sanctioning leaders who promote anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, and supporting Israel’s right to defend itself against those committed to its destruction.
In summary, Iran’s regime uses Holocaust denial to pursue its wider goals: the delegitimization of Israel, the spread of antisemitism, and the continued justification of armed aggression by groups tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This campaign—rooted in a rejection of both historical fact and moral responsibility—stands as a central pillar of Iran’s ongoing regional strategy and war on truth. The defense of historical reality is, therefore, inseparable from the defense of Israel’s security and the rejection of terror across the Middle East.
