The remarks were made on the occasion of the beginning of the Christian new year, in a ritual performed by Assyrians in Urmia where the minister of culture and Islamic guidance attended the event on Tuesday.
Stressing that Iran is a symbol of human rights and peace for different ethnic groups and monotheistic religions, he added: “Jesus Christ has been respected by the holy Quran and today our fellow Muslims in the country congratulated us his birthday by any means possible.”
“It is an honor for me as an Assyrian to declare that Assyrian martyrs have sacrificed their life for the Islamic revolution and also during the eight-year imposed war against Iran.”
The minister of culture and Islamic guidance, Seyed Abbas Salehi also emphasized that Iran has always been a “cradle for monotheistic religions”, adding that polytheism has never existed in Iran and this will always remain so.