Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Without Remorse

Iran leader defends Israel remark

Protesters in Tehran burned Israeli flags
Iran's president has defended his widely criticised call for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
Attending an anti-Israel rally in Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his remarks were "just" - and the criticism did not "have any validity".

His initial comment provoked anger from many governments, and prompted Israel to demand Iran's expulsion from the UN.

Egypt said they showed "the weakness of the Iranian government". A Palestinian official also rejected the remarks.

Defiant rally

Tens of thousands of Iranians took part in the rally in Tehran which Iran organises every year on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan to show solidarity with the Palestinian struggle.

Shouting "Death to Israel, death to the Zionists", the protesters dragged Israeli flags along the ground and then set them on fire.

Palestinians recognise the right of the state of Israel to exist and I reject his comments

Saeb Erekat
Chief Palestinian negotiator


Iran comments: Your views

Many carried posters and placards sporting the slogan "Israel should be wiped off the map".

Joining the protest, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "My words were the Iranian nation's words.

"Westerners are free to comment, but their reactions are invalid," Mr Ahmadinejad told the official Irna news agency.

Some demonstrators wore white shrouds in a symbolic gesture expressing readiness to die for their cause.

"Ahmadinejad talks on behalf of all Iranians. We are ready to die for Palestine," Mohammad Mirzayi, a member of a volunteer Shia militia group, told the Reuters news agency.

'Inexperience'

While most Muslim and Arab capitals have remained silent on the president's remarks, a few have spoken out - including Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat.

"Palestinians recognise the right of the state of Israel to exist and I reject his comments," he told the BBC News website.

"What we need to be talking about is adding the state of Palestine to the map and not wiping Israel from the map," he said.


Tehran says the West's reaction is linked to its nuclear plans

Egypt, which has signed a peace treaty with Israel, also rejected the Iranian line.

"In principle, we are way beyond this type of political rhetoric that shows the weakness of the Iranian government," said an official at the Egyptian embassy in London.

Turkey's prime minister called on the Iranian president "to display political moderation".

Our world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds says that the UK Foreign Office does not regard President Ahmadinejad's statement on Israel as a new policy but more as a sign of his inexperience and the very local focus of his government.

UK officials suspect that he has held such views for years and that what is happening is that ideologues like him are now in power and are having their views exposed, he adds.

While there is no sense that Iran is backing down, there are Iranians who are concerned that their country could become increasingly isolated under this new ultra-conservative government, reports the BBC Frances Harrison in Tehran.

Diplomatic drive

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom meanwhile said Israel would call for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

"We have decided to open a broad diplomatic offensive," Mr Shalom said.

So far no action has been taken at the UN, but Secretary General Kofi Annan took the unusual step of rebuking Iran for the comments.

Iran has dismissed the international furore as a means of pressing Iran to compromise on its nuclear programme.

Negotiations have stalled between the EU and Iran over attempts to persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Addendum

Now believe me, I do understand that the man making the comments in my previous post is a "radical extremist" muslim. BUT, I also understand that according to Islam and the Koran, anyone not willing to convert to Islam is not worthy of life on this here planet of ours.

THIS is what makes Islam a cult, not just another world religion. Nope sorry, It's just a BIG grown up cult. Hmmmmm.....wonder just how many angry responses I might get to that statement????

Definition of a cult: Biblical Christianity gone perverted. This does in fact hold up as a definition. Without Christianity we would not have had cults. We would have only had other religions. What sets cults apart is that their leaders and writings ALL began with Christianity, and then had a schizm that resulted in the truth of the bible being distorted and twisted. You can't compare cults without Christianity as a central hub and theme. If you remove Christianity from the equation, you're left with only half of the cult foundings, and therefore no cult.

Where Islam fits this description is in the fact that if you refuse to convert to Islam, you are not worthy of life here on earth. COMPARISON: Anyone who refuses to convert to Christianity is already dead and has no life in the eternal sense either. But in both terms the primary thought is of the spiritual aspect of man, and the physical is secondary. This is reversed in Islam. This is only one of many examples; ( a fact that might get me yelled at by those wishing a further explanation, but until that point I have other things needing to be done ) SO, back to the point:

Even though this statement that Israel should be "wiped from the map" is by extremists, it is validated in the study of Islam and the Quran. How long until the "innocent" followers of Islam become not-so-innocent?? Need examples? Watch Europe. Now Muslims don't just wish to practice Islam in Europe, they wish that society conform to Islamic standards so that Muslims aren't offended....regardless of how it effects non-muslims! They are seeking power politically, and I believe will continue to receive it. Time will prove me right or wrong, but so far it's happening. It definitely makes one wonder how long the LORD will tarry?

Whew...this one's just dangerous to even think about!

By Parisa Hafezi
Wed Oct 26, 4:28 PM ET



TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that Israel should be "wiped off the map," the official IRNA news agency reported.


Support for the Palestinian cause is a central pillar of the Islamic Republic which officially refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist.

"Israel must be wiped off the map," Ahmadinejad told a conference called "The World without Zionism," attended by some 3,000 conservative students who chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America."

Under reformist President Mohammad Khatami, whose eight-year tenure ended earlier this year, Iran had shown signs of easing its implacable hostility toward Israel. Officials said Tehran might not object to a two-state solution if that was what the Palestinians wanted.

But Ahmadinejad, a former member of the hard-line Revolutionary Guards and traditional religious conservative, said there could be no let-up in its hostility to Israel.

"The Islamic world will not let its historic enemy live in its heartland," he said.

White House Spokesman Scott McClellan said Washington took such remarks seriously.

"It underscores the concerns we have about Iran's nuclear intentions," he told reporters.

The United States accuses Iran of seeking nuclear arms, but Tehran says it needs atomic fuel only for power stations. Iran has developed ballistic missiles able to hit Israel.

Tehran denies accusations it trains and arms Palestinian militant groups, saying it offers only moral support.

French Foreign Minister Douste-Blazy said he had summoned Iran's ambassador to explain the comments. "If these (reported) comments are true, they are unacceptable. I condemn them with the greatest firmness," he said in a statement.

Iran's ambassador to Madrid will also be summoned to explain the remarks. "...Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has expressed his rejection in the most emphatic terms and has decided to urgently call in the Iranian ambassador to ask him for an explanation," the ministry said in a statement.



Genesis 12:1-3 "The LORD had said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU AND WHOEVER CURSES YOU I WILL CURSE; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."


God meant His promise all those years ago, and He's never broken it. I don't believe He'd start now. I believe all of the enemies of Israel should study their history lessons harder or they run an EXTREME risk of becoming just another lesson on what happens to the enemies of Israel.

I cannot think of a more dangerous statement for any one man or country to make other than "Israel should be wiped off the map". Will definitely track this one.