Rafi'-Nia synagogue

Rafi‘nia Synagogue (Persian: کنیسه رفیع‌نیا), also known as the Mashhadi Synagogue or the Khorasani Synagogue of Tehran,^[1] was a synagogue of the Jewish community in Tehran, Iran.^[2] It was located on Valiasr Street, Bozorgmehr Street, Freyman Street, Malek Alley, near Taleghani Street and Palestine Street, and one building away from the former Israeli Embassy in Tehran.^[3] This synagogue, along with the Azizkhan, Levian, and Nosrat synagogues, was among the synagogues of the Khorasani Association (Mashhadi Jews).^[4] Its name is derived from the Rafī‘nia family, one of the Jewish service families from the Mashhadi community.^[5]

At the same time as Jews settled in the Keshavarz Boulevard area (formerly Elizabeth), Abdolrahman Rafī‘nia built this synagogue in 1958 in two floors. The main floor (second floor) was allocated to Mashhadis, while the ground floor was allocated to Kermanis.^[6] In the 1970s, Rabbi Musa Zargari held classes on religious studies and the Torah in this synagogue for some time.^[7] The synagogue was renovated in 2016. In recent years, due to the decline in the Jewish population, only the upper floor was in use, while the lower floor served as the residence of the synagogue caretaker.^[6]

During the Iran–United States–Israel war on 7 April 2026 at 03:15 a.m.,^[8] the synagogue was completely destroyed following a US and Israeli attack^[9] on an adjacent residential building,^[10] and Torah scrolls remained under the rubble.^[11][12][13] It is likely that the centuries-old Torah scrolls of the synagogue were also severely damaged.^[8]