History

So was talking with a Sunni friend, and he was telling me that Iranians are not muslim. He was also saying this is a common belief in the middle east.

I couldn't tell if this was some old prejudice thing, or I am just ignorant on the matter because from my understanding they are Shia muslims and have a religious head of state (even though maybe they are not following Islam in the same manner as other muslims would approve of).

When I asked him to clarify if he meant that Shia muslims are not true muslims or if he meant Iranians are not muslims it also got kind of confusing. He was talking about the history of the split over who would be the successor to Ali, and then something I've never heard before. He said a Jewish person created a new Shia'ism with "12 infallible imams", which honestly sounds like some antisemetic conspiracy but Im just not knowledgeable on the matter. From what I searched I dont see any origin from a Jewish person in Shia'ism.

Anyways, curious to know more about how Iran is viewed by the rest of the middle east and how they view themselves. Also hope I didn't say anything offensive.