Irish President Michael D. Higgins has accused Israel of distributing his congratulatory letter to new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian shortly after his election in July.

A copy of the letter, in which Higgins conveyed his “best wishes” for the new Iranian leader’s presidency and expressed condolences for the death of his predecessor, the hardline Ebrahim Raisi, was shared on social media at the time and prompted a number of politicians to criticise Higgins for “kowtowing” to a despotic regime.

During a press conference in New York on Sunday, Higgins said he believed Israel was behind the publicisation of the letter, telling reporters: "You should ask where the criticism came from and how the letter was circulated and by whom and for what purpose.”

The letter, which was first posted publicly by the Islamic Republic’s embassy in Dublin to its website on the 26^th July and also appeared to have been posted in a since-deleted tweet with a photo of the letter around that time.

The account for the Israeli embassy in Ireland, didn't post about the letter until 1 August  in a post which criticised Higgins for addressing Iran “as a so-called force for stability & collaboration without holding them accountable for their malign actions.” 

When a reporter pressed further, asking how Higgins thought the letter got out, he responded with certainty: “It was the Israeli embassy.”

He was then asked how he thinks the Israeli embassy obtained his correspondence with the Iranian president, to which he replied: “I have no idea.”

Higgins, who was visiting New York for a United Nations event, has said previously that he wrote the letter to Pezeshkian as part of standard diplomatic protocol when a new Head of State enters office, and is in common with many other European Heads of State. The President’s office added in a statement in late July following the letter’s publication that “In keeping with normal practice, this letter was based on draft material provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs and issued through the normal diplomatic channels. The President’s message stressed the need for all in the region to work for peace.”

Indeed, Higgins’ letter said that Iran, “with its long tradition of culture,” will play a “crucial role” in helping to achieve peace int he Middle East region. It also said Ireland was in the process of establishing an embassy in Tehran to “help make the dialogue and cooperation between our two countries ever easier.”

Several commentators shared the letter on social media after 26 July, with some X users comparing Higgins's words with those of Douglas Hyde, Ireland's president during the Second World War, who offered condolences to Germany's representative in Dublin over the death of Adolf Hitler.

According to the Irish Times, Taoiseach Simon Harris said about the President’s comments on Israel’s role in circulating the letter to Pezeshkian: “I have no evidence or information as to how a letter written by the President of Ireland to the president of Iran came into the public domain, none whatsoever.

“What I do know as a statement of fact ... is that the Israeli embassy did comment on his letter on a number of occasions. The point I am making is that you would imagine that the government of a country that is carrying out a humanitarian catastrophe that has seen thousands of children killed would have better things to be doing than parsing the words of our President.”

The Israeli embassy in Ireland also responded to Higgins’ accusation, writing in a statement on Sunday: “Unfortunately in Ireland since the October 7 invasion by Hamas and massacre in Israel, which triggered this awful war, Israel has been subjected to a high level of malicious statements and accusations that have often manifested as incitement to hatred.

“This baseless accusation is highly inflammatory and potentially slanderous and the embassy rejects it completely. The fact remains that the letter was written and therefore it is the burden of the author to defend its content, which did not mention the threat Iran poses in the region, that it calls for Israel’s destruction, that it arms and funds terrorist organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah, not to mention the violations of human rights against its own citizens.”

President Higgins has been contacted for comment.