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Ahmadinejad's anti-Semitic remarks part of a deliberate strategy
Iranâs hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad renewed his call for the âremovalâ of Israel from the Middle East on Tuesday and said his string of attacks on the Jewish state and denial of the Holocaust were part of a âdeliberate strategyâ aimed at winning the hearts and minds of young Muslims.âSome in Iran and abroad thought that we were making these speeches without a specific plan and policy, but we have been pursuing a deliberate strategy in this regardsâ, the Iranian president told a group of Islamist student activists, according to the Persian-language website Khedmat, which was launched by Ahmadinejadâs campaign team during the presidential elections last year and continues to be run by his aides. âThe wave [that these speeches created] has a lot of supporters among young people in the Muslim world and it will continue to move forwardâ, Ahmadinejad said. Ahmadinejad told a joint meeting of his cabinet and Majlis deputies on Tuesday, âThose who defend today the crimes of the Zionists must be held accountable and sentenced. Of course, they claim that they are very strong, but this is one of their big liesâ. âThe revival of Islam is whipping the frail body of the Global Hegemonâ, Ahmadinejad said in a reference to the United States. âThis Global Hegemon will soon be toppledâ. Ahmadinejad, who has been a top commander in Iranâs elite Revolutionary Guards, told the Majlis deputies that is was âunbearableâ to witness âinternational butchersâ make accusations against the Islamic Republic. He rejected the authority of a United Nations mandate that declared the state of Israel to be legitimate. âYou who claim that there was a Holocaust are today repeating such a thing in Palestineâ, Ahmadinejad said, adding that Tehran did not fear retribution for its stance. Ahmadinejad had recently called the Holocaust a âmythâ and said that Israel must be âwiped off the mapâ. âWe do not fear their screams. The more they shout, the more they show their own weaknessesâ, Ahmadinejad said in reference to the international condemnation his comments received. His remarks were twice condemned by the United Nations Security Council. Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-01-04 |
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