|
Iran leader ahmadinejad calls holocaust myth Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aSx4wMhMQ4ks&refer=top_world_newshttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aSx4wMhMQ4ks&refer=top_world_news
Iran's Leader Ahmadinejad Dismisses Nazi Holocaust as `Myth'
Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad questioned the reality of the Nazi Holocaust, calling it a ``myth'' fabricated by the West, and told Europe, the U.S. or Canada they should shelter a Jewish state on their soil.
The West has ``fabricated a myth under the name 'Massacre of the Jews,' and they hold it higher than God himself, religion itself and the prophets themselves,'' Iran's leader told thousands of supporters in the south-eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, state television showed in a live broadcast.
``If you say and insist it's true that you killed 6 million Jews in crematoria during World War II, then why should the Palestinians pay for that?'' Ahmadinejad asked. ``Our proposal is that you give a piece of your land in Europe, the U.S., Canada or Alaska. If you do that, the Iranian people will no longer protest against you.''
This is the strongest anti-Israeli public comment by Ahmadinejad since he took office in August. The Iranian president drew international condemnation on Oct. 26 after saying that Israel should be ``wiped off the map.'' On Dec. 8, he prompted another outcry when he said Europe should host Israel on its soil. Some 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis until Germany's defeat in the 1939-1945 war.
The remarks by Ahmadinejad, whose election in June gave backers of the Islamic revolution full power over state institutions, have added to tensions as Iran faces possible United Nations sanctions over its nuclear program.
U.S. Ban
The U.S., which bans its companies from doing business in Iran, says Iran sponsors terrorism with backing for groups such as the Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Shiite Muslim Hezbollah militia. Hezbollah was formed in 1982 with the help of Iran's Revolutionary Guards after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Yesterday, the Iranian president reiterated his support for Hamas, which has carried out suicide attacks against Israeli targets, after meeting its political leader, Khalid Mashaal.
``We are all obliged to heed our religious and divine responsibilities in offering services to the Palestinian movement,'' Ahmadinejad told Mashaal in Tehran, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency IRNA reported.
Until the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran used to export crude oil to Israel. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Islamic Republic's founder, put an end to that trade. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's Supreme Leader since Khomeini died, has repeatedly called for Arab and Islamic countries to suspend oil sales to Israel.
Anti-Israeli and anti-U.S. comments are frequent in Iran. Friday prayers throughout the country are regularly punctuated by ``Death to Israel, Death to the U.S.'' slogans. Anti-U.S. paintings also abound in Tehran, including those on the wall of the building that served as the U.S. Embassy.
The war of words goes in both directions, with Iran referring to the U.S. as ``The Great Satan'' and U.S. President George W. Bush calling Iran part of the ``axis of evil'' along with Iraq and North Korea since 2002.
Last Updated: December 14, 2005 05:58 EST
|
|
