Wipe Israelis off the Map, Says Ahmedinejad

27/10/2005| IslamWeb

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday openly called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and lashed out at Muslim nations which recognise the Jewish state, setting off a storm of protests. "The establishment of the Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world," he told a conference in Tehran entitled "The World without Zionism".

"As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map," said Ahmadinejad, referring to a slogan which Iran's revolutionary leader Khomeini used before his death in 1989.

The White House said the call "underscores the concerns we have about Iran's nuclear operations", while the German foreign ministry said the comments were "completely unacceptable".

France said it will summon Iran's ambassador to Paris to question him over the call.

Ahmadinejad's comments were the first time in years that such a high-ranking Iranian official has openly called for Israel's eradication.

"The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land," he thundered in a fiery speech on what he called an "historic war between the oppressor and the world of Islam".

Shimon Peres says UN should expel Iran

Israel's Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres said Iran should be expelled from the United Nations after its president called for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map."

"I don't see such a crazy declaration being done by a head of state, a member of the United Nations, it is unbearable. He cannot remain a member," Peres told a news conference.

Responding to a question, Peres said he might seek an official Israeli mandate to request Iran's expulsion from the United Nations. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that was not Israel's official position.

The United States, Canada and three European countries condemned Ahmadinejad's comment. White House Spokesman Scott McClellan said "it underscores the concerns we have about Iran's nuclear intentions."

Peres said Israel would pursue its campaign against Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran says is intended only for peaceful purposes but which Israel fears could be used to build an atomic bomb. Israel is believed to be the only Middle Eastern country to have a nuclear arsenal.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivers his speech during a conference in Tehran. (AFP)