Louis Farrakhan, the longtime Nation of Islam leader most well known for his racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric, accepted an invitation to speak at an upcoming rally in Iran following an address by the Islamic Republic’s president, Hassan Rouhani, according to Persian language reports.
Farrakhan, as well as other leaders of the global Islamic movement, will travel to Iran to participate in festivities surrounding the 1979 revolution, in which Iranian hardliners deposed the former government, according to Iran’s state-controlled Fars News Agency.
One Iranian reporter, Sobhan Hassanvand, announced the news on Twitter, describing it as "BIG."
BIG: Nation of Islam leader @LouisFarrakhan to visit Iran, speak at 22 Bahman rally marking Islamic Revolution, meet @HassanRouhani
— Sobhan Hassanvand (@Hassanvand) February 9, 2016
Hassanvand inaccurately claimed that Farrakhan would meet with Rouhani. In a correction, he clarified that Farrakhan would deliver a speech directly after the Iranian president. "Rouhani, Farrakhan might meet," he tweeted.
CORRECTION: @HassanRouhani to speak at 22 Bahman rally after @LouisFarrakhan address
Rouhani, Farrakhan might meet— Sobhan Hassanvand (@Hassanvand) February 9, 2016
Farrakhan has long been seen as a pariah in the Jewish community due to his repeated comments attacking Jews for controlling the media and Hollywood. He also has claimed that Jewish people created the slave trade and that Israelis has advance knowledge of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Iran’s government also is known for promoting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and routinely threatens to slaughter Jews and destroy the state of Israel.