An Iranian MP has praised British rap-punk duo Bob Vylan following their recent highly contentious performance at the Glastonbury music festival in England, calling them a "brother" and suggesting artists would join the fight against Israel, the Ana news agency reported on July 1.

Mojtaba Zarei, a member of Iran's parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, has surprised many in Iran with his words of encouragement to the duo, which have caused a political storm in the UK following last weekend’s performance on the Pyramid stage at the annual music festival.

Bob Vylan is a British rap-punk duo that led crowds at Glastonbury Festival on June 28 in chants of "death, death to the IDF" and "free, free Palestine," prompting police investigations and US visa revocations ordered by President Donald Trump.

Zarei reacted to Bob Vylan's recent concert by posting on social media platform X: "Greetings to Vylan! He is our brother!"

The MP suggested that even without support from Hezbollah, Hamas, Ansar and Iranians, artists would oppose Israel. "Artists will come to war against you Israeli cannibals!" Zarei wrote.

Zarei referenced the late Mojtahed Tehrani, saying that in Karbala, more of "these same people" came to the aid of Hussein than the pious, conservatives and cowards.

He stopped short of offering the musical pair a performance in Iran, an offer rarely made to foreign musicians, something rarely offered to foreign performers.

The duo have come under increasing pressure in recent days with their agency, United Talent Agency dropping them as clients and removing them from their website following the backlash over the comments. 

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and other politicians condemned the chants as hate speech, and Glastonbury organisers distanced themselves from the band, stating the performance "crossed a line" and emphasising there is no room for antisemitism or incitement at the festival.

The last Western musicians to perform in Iran were Germany’s Schiller, in 2017, with earlier attempts by other singers including Chris de Burgh visiting the country in 2008 but not being permitted to perform his “Lady in Red” song.