Mohammad Reza Naqdi
Tehran: As senior adviser to the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Reza Naqdi on September 2, has urged Israelis to return to their countries and “flee quickly”, warning that those who remain would face the fate of the Banu Qurayza, according to Iranian media.
Naqdi said Israelis should understand that the method used by Islamic forces, once they reached the area, would be “the same method” associated with Banu Qurayza. He further stated that those who remained would be treated according to the way the Banu Qurayza were treated, referring to the Torah rather than “Islamic mercy”.
The remarks explicitly invoked the historical fate of Banu Qurayza, a Jewish tribe associated with Medina, then known as Yathrib, in the Hejaz region of Arabia. The Banu Qurayza were one of the major Jewish tribes of Medina. Historical accounts place the confrontation between the Banu Qurayza and the forces of Muhammad in 627 CE, during the seventh century.
The statement by the IRGC adviser comes amid continuing confrontation between Iran and the United States and heightened rhetoric concerning Israel. On the 76th day after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Washington and Tehran, and 185 days after the outbreak of the war between the two sides, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Iran would immediately reciprocate if the United States returned to fulfilling its commitments under the Memorandum.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump threatened that the United States would “strike Iran hard” and respond to the Iranian attack on US forces in Jordan. Trump also said that the Strait of Hormuz remained in excellent condition and that an average of 30 ships passed through the strait every night.
The Banu Qurayza episode is recorded in early Islamic historical and biographical literature as taking place in 627 CE, following the Battle of the Trench, also known as the Battle of Khandaq. The Banu Qurayza were a Jewish tribe of Medina whose relationship with Muhammad and the Muslim community became the subject of conflict during the siege of Medina.
According to the historical accounts, the Banu Qurayza were besieged after the Battle of the Trench and eventually surrendered. Accounts differ over some details and numbers, but Encyclopaedia Judaica records that hundreds of Banu Qurayza men were beheaded, while their women and children were taken captive and sold into slavery.
The number of men killed is given differently in historical sources. Some accounts give a figure of approximately 600 to 900. The episode is therefore commonly described in historical literature as the massacre of Banu Qurayza.
The fate of Banu Qurayza has remained a significant episode in accounts of early Islamic history and Jewish history in Arabia. Ka’b ibn Asad, identified as the chief of the Banu Qurayza, is also recorded as having been killed in 627 CE.
By invoking Banu Qurayza, Mohammad Reza Naqdi therefore referred directly to a seventh-century episode involving a Jewish tribe in Medina, linking the historical fate of the Banu Qurayza to his warning to Israelis. The reference to the Banu Qurayza, Jews, Israel and the IRGC forms the central element of Naqdi’s latest statement.
