Amid a global exchange of greetings and good wishes to mark Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, there was one from a particularly surprising quarter.
在全球對猶太新年表示問候與祝福之際,從一個尤其令人意想不到的地方也傳來了一句祝福。
Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, tweeted: "As the sun is about to set here in #Tehran I wish all Jews, especially Iranian Jews, a blessed Rosh Hashanah." A picture of an Iranian Jew praying at a synagogue in Tehran accompanied the tweet.
伊朗總統羅哈尼在推特上寫道,「當太陽正要在#德黑蘭這裡落下之際,我祝福所有猶太人,特別是伊朗的猶太人,都度過一個快樂的猶太新年。」推文旁還附上一張伊朗猶太人在德黑蘭猶太教堂祈禱的照片。
According to a 2012 census, there are fewer than 9,000 Jews among Iran’s population of about 75 million.
根據一項2012年所進行的人口普查顯示,在伊朗全國約7500萬人口當中,猶太人只有不到9000人。
The message from Rouhani was unexpected in Israel, which has identified Iran as a huge threat to its security. It says the regime is developing a nuclear weapons programme that could be used to annihilate the Jewish state.
羅哈尼的祝福讓以色列大感意外,因為以色列一直把伊朗視為國家安全最大威脅。以色列宣稱伊朗政權正發展可能用來摧毀以色列的核武計畫。
Rouhani, who was elected in June, has pledged to tone down the "hate rhetoric" used by his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
今年6月當選總統的羅哈尼曾矢言要減緩前總統阿瑪迪尼賈所使用的「仇恨言論」。