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The Independent
By Anne Penketh, Diplomatic Editor
 Iran's
hardline President, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, has stirred up a diplomatic storm and
risked further isolating his country by saying that Israel
should be "wiped off the map".
Iran's refusal officially to
recognise Israel's
right to exist is a major obstacle to improved relations between Tehran and the West
and has fuelled Israeli fears that the Islamic republic is bent on
building a nuclear bomb. Yesterday's diatribe - the first such outburst
in many years by an Iranian leader - will have done nothing to assuage
fears.
Speaking to 4,000 radical students attending a conference entitled
"The World Without Zionism", the President was greeted by
chants of "Death to Israel".The
former member of the fanatical Revolutionary Guards told his audience
that "leaders of the Muslim nation who recognise
Israel
will burn in the flames of anger of their own people".
"The Islamic world will not let its historic enemy live in its
heartland," he went on. Saying that he was voicing the opinion of Iran's late spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the new President went on to say
that "Israel
must be wiped off the map".
Foreign leaders condemned the remarks. The Israeli Foreign Minister,
Sylvan Shalom, said they showed Iran was a "clear and
present danger". A Foreign Office spokesman said "the sickening
comment will only further heighten the concern about Iran's
nuclear ambitions".
Iran's hardline
President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
has stirred up a diplomatic storm and risked further isolating his
country by saying that Israel
should be "wiped off the map".
Iran's refusal officially to
recognise Israel's
right to exist is a major obstacle to improved relations between Tehran and the West
and has fuelled Israeli fears that the Islamic republic is bent on
building a nuclear bomb. Yesterday's diatribe - the first such outburst
in many years by an Iranian leader - will have done nothing to assuage
fears.
Speaking to 4,000 radical students attending a conference entitled
"The World Without Zionism", the President was greeted by
chants of "Death to Israel".The
former member of the fanatical Revolutionary Guards told his audience
that "leaders of the Muslim nation who recognise
Israel
will burn in the flames of anger of their own people".
"The Islamic world will not let its historic enemy live in its
heartland," he went on. Saying that he was voicing the opinion of Iran's late spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the new President went on to say
that "Israel
must be wiped off the map".
Foreign leaders condemned the remarks. The Israeli Foreign Minister,
Sylvan Shalom, said they showed Iran was a "clear and
present danger". A Foreign Office spokesman said "the sickening
comment will only further heighten the concern about Iran's
nuclear ambitions".
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