page_title: Foreign relations of Israel
section_title: Iran
hierarchical_section_title: Foreign relations of Israel / North Africa and Middle East / Iran
caption_attribution_description: English: Original Description: Persian minister Saffinia arrving at the home of president Haim Weizmann in Rehovot, on independence day. עברית: ציר איראן בישראל, רזא סאפיניה, מגיע לבית הנשיא חיים ויצמן ברחובות ביום העצמאות, 1950. Русский: Иранский дипломат Реза Сафиния прибывает в резиденцию президента Израиля, 1950 год
context_page_description: Israel has diplomatic relations with 162 of the 193 UN member states as of December 2019. Israel maintains full diplomatic relations with two of its Arab neighbours, Egypt and Jordan, after signing peace treaties in 1979 and 1994 respectively. A peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel was announced on 13 August 2020, ending decades of non-recognition from UAE. Thirty-one UN member states do not recognize Israel. These include 19 of the 22 members of the Arab League: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. A further 9 are members of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mali, Niger and Pakistan. Other countries which do not recognise Israel include Bhutan, Cuba and North Korea. Israel is a member of a number of United Nations and other international organisations.
  The close friendship with the United States has also been a linchpin of Israeli foreign policy for decades.
context_section_description: Relations between Israel and Iran have alternated from close political alliances between the two states during the era of the Pahlavi dynasty to hostility following the rise to power of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. While Iran was the second Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel, the two states do not currently have diplomatic relations with each other, due to Iran's withdrawal of its recognition of Israel. The post-1979 Iranian authorities avoid referring to Israel by its name, and instead use the terms "the Zionist regime" or "occupied Palestine". Iranian passports bear an inscription that says, "The bearer of this passport is forbidden from traveling to occupied Palestine."
  Due to recent rhetoric between Iran and Israel, development of nuclear technology, and funding of the groups Hamas and Hezbollah, tensions have risen dramatically between the State of Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially after the election of the hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005. Comments made by Ahmadinejad, who has called the Holocaust “a myth” and for Israel to be “wiped off the map” were perceived by Israel as threat of destruction.
  A large population of Iranian Jews reside in Israel, among them former President of Israel Moshe Katsav, former Chief of Staff / Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, and former Chief of staff Dan Halutz.
caption: Iranian minister Reza Saffinia visiting the home of Israeli president Chaim Weizmann, 1950.
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