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Iran "totally rejects" Palestine U.N. statehood bid
Iran's supreme leader rejected the Palestinians' U.N. statehood bid on Saturday, saying any deal that accepted the existence of Israel would leave a "cancerous tumor" forever threatening the security of the Middle East.As leader of a country under a long-standing threat of military action from Israel and the United States, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the Jewish state and its allies to expect "paralyzing blows" that a NATO missile shield could not prevent. "Any plan that seeks to divide Palestine is totally rejected," Khamenei told a conference on the Palestinian issue. "The two-state scheme, which has been clad in the self-righteousness of the acceptance of the Palestinian government and membership at the United Nations, is nothing but a capitulation to the demands of the Zionists or the recognition of the Zionist regime on Palestinian land," he declared. Israel's U.S. ally has vowed to veto the Palestinian request for full U.N. membership, now being discussed by a U.N. Security Council panel, if it goes to a vote. Khamenei's speech underlined Iran's support for groups that oppose Israel, including Hamas, the Islamist faction which rules the Gaza Strip and which rejected the U.N. bid presented by President Mahmoud Abbas as "begging" for statehood. The 72-year-old cleric also sought to portray Iran as the greatest defender of the Palestinian cause, criticizing other countries in the region that have close ties to Washington. Two of these, Egypt and Jordan, have recognized Israel. "Governments that host Zionist embassies or economic bureaus cannot advocate support for Palestine," he said in comments aimed, among others, at post-Mubarak Egypt with which Tehran is seeking to restore the diplomatic ties cut since 1979. Posted by: tipper 2011-10-01 |
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