TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani sent greetings to the Jewish people on the occasion of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.
Early Monday morning, Rouhani’s Twitter account posted the message, “May our shared Abrahamic roots deepen respect and bring peace and mutual understanding. L’Shanah Tovah.”
The comment did not appear on the Farsi version of Rouhani’s account, suggesting the Iranian president was targeting his comments toward an international audience at a time when the Iranian nuclear deal with world powers faces ratification amid strong Israeli opposition.
Rouhani posted a similar Rosh Hashana greeting via Twitter in 2013, shortly after he took office. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has sent similar messages via Twitter in recent years.
Iran’s Jewish community dates back nearly 3,000 years. Many Iranian Jews fled the country after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but an estimated 20,000 native-born Jews remain in Iran.