Tehran Defiant Over Israel Slur
Tehran defiant over Israel slur
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story...602769,00.html
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-imag...28/iran372.jpg
(Gold9472: This is a DIRECT result of the fact that U.S. policies have ALWAYS favored Israel over any other country in the Middle East.)
Staff and agencies
Friday October 28, 2005
The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, refused today to retract his call for Israel to be wiped off the map, while the Iranian embassy in Moscow attempted to calm the growing diplomatic crisis.
Mr Ahmadinejad appeared at an anti-Israeli rally attended by thousands of Iranians in Tehran and rejected the international condemnation of his comments as "invalid".
"My words were the Iranian nation's words. Westerners are free to comment, but their reactions are invalid," he said.
The Iranian embassy in Moscow earlier attempted to pull back from his declaration after the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, became the latest world leader to rebuke him.
A statement released by the embassy said Mr Ahmadinejad "did not have any intention to speak up in such sharp terms and enter into a conflict".
But the remarks were unlikely to satisfy Israel, which called today for an emergency session of the UN security council.
"We have decided to open a broad diplomatic offensive," the Israeli foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, said.
The country's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, called yesterday for Iran to be expelled from the UN.
"A country that calls for the destruction of another people cannot be a member of the UN," he said.
Protestors in Tehran and other Iranian cities burned Israeli flags today and held banners displaying anti-Israeli slogans including "Death to Israel, Death to America".
Demonstrations were held across the country to mark the last Friday of the month of Ramadan.
Mr Ahmedinejad's comments, made on Wednesday, have been widely condemned by world leaders including Tony Blair, who called them "completely and totally unacceptable".
Speaking after the one-day EU summit at Hampton Court, in Surrey, Mr Blair warned that the world would demand direct action against Tehran if the threats were repeated.
"When we hear such statements made about Israel, it makes us feel very angry. It's just completely wrong," Mr Blair said.
Mr Annan is due to visit Iran over the next few weeks to discuss other issues, including Tehran's nuclear programme.
However, the secretary general now says he will place the Middle East peace process and the "right of all states in that area to live in peace, within secure and recognised boundaries, free from threats or acts of force" at the top of his agenda.
In an unusual display of public condemnation, Mr Annan expressed his "dismay" yesterday at Mr Ahmadinejad's remarks and warned Tehran that all UN members had agreed to "refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity ... of any state".
The US, Canadian, Russian and European leaders have all criticised Mr Ahmadinejad's remarks, though none backed Mr Sharon's demand that Iran should be thrown out of the UN.
Several countries, including Britain, France, Russia, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands have also rebuked Iranian diplomats.
