Zoroastrians keep flame burning in Iran

A Zoroastrian priest dressed in white carefully added wood to a fire that has burned for centuries inside an Iranian temple, sacred to one of the world's oldest religions.

The fragrant holy fire, kept in a large bronze goblet, "has been burning for more than 1,500 years", said Simin, a tour guide welcoming visitors to the Zoroastrian fire temple in Iran's central Yazd province.

Zoroastrianism dates back some 3,500 years, but centuries of persecution have dwindled its numbers and a fast-changing modern world has left it struggling to adjust.

Founded by the prophet Zarathustra, it was the predominant religion of the ancient Persian empire, until the rise of Islam with the Arab conquests of the seventh century.

Today, the community is put at 200,000 who live mainly in Iran and India who venerate fire as a supreme form of purity.

Alongside water, air and earth, the elements must not be contaminated by human activity, according to their faith.

Only priests are allowed in the Yazd sanctum, covering their faces to prevent vapor and breath from contaminating the fire, as they take turns to keep it burning. The fire "can never die out," said the guide.

Visitors can only observe the rituals from behind tinted glass.

In Iran, Zoroastrian leaders say the community nowadays is around 50,000. The latest 2016 national census puts their number, excluding converts, at 24,000.

Over the centuries, faithful have undergone forced conversions, with many temples destroyed, libraries set ablaze, and much of their cultural heritage lost.

But "our religion still occupies a place in the history of the world, and it will continue to exist", said Bahram Demehri, a 76-year-old faithful from Yazd.

"The essence of Zoroastrianism is based on monotheism, prophecy, belief in the afterlife and benevolence," he said.

Zoroastrians believe "good thoughts, words, deeds" are the key to happiness and spirituality and that a messiah called Saoshyant will one day return and save the world by fighting wrongs.

Their teachings are embodied in Faravahar, an ancient symbol of a man emerging from a winged disc while holding a ring, which is carved on the pediments of ancient Persian temples.

"Joy is essential in the practice of our religion," Simin noted, mentioning multiple religious celebrations. One of those festivals, Nowruz, marks the new Persian year and is celebrated to this day by Iran's overwhelmingly Shiite Muslim majority.

Tehran recognizes Zoroastrians, granting them freedom of worship and representation in parliament.

Other religious minorities, like followers of the Bahai faith - Iran's largest non-Muslim group - are not recognized.

"The laws protect us," Demehri said. "Zoroastrians are active members of Iranian society," and include "university professors and government employees."

But they are barred from careers in the armed forces and cannot run for president.

Some rituals were lost as followers were forced to practice their faith discreetly.

A rite known as dakhma - which involves putting the dead atop a platform known as "the tower of silence" to be devoured by birds - was banned since the late 1960s for sanitary reasons.

Instead, Zoroastrians have opted to lay their deceased to rest in cemeteries.

Other traditions are challenged by modernity, with followers scattered.

Among the most famous exiles is Queen lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, born to a Zoroastrian family originally from India.

Priests have opened centers abroad, including in the United States, where a sizeable diaspora community lives.

Demehri noted efforts to "modernize the rites" and simplify them for the young.

"It is difficult to ask young people who love pizza to eat our traditional tasteless bread during celebrations," he said.