Iranâs hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended on Saturday his previous comments calling for the destruction of Israel and rejected criticism from Unites States President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the issue.In several demagogic speeches since his taking office last year, Ahmadinejad had claimed that the Holocaust was a âmythâ and declared that the Jewish state had to be âwiped off the mapâ. Iran was twice censured at the United Nations Security Council for the presidentâs comments.
In his first press conference since taking office, which was broadcasted live on state television, Ahmadinejad defended his statements and said that the U.S. was seeking to âwipe Palestine off the mapâ. âBut you will not be able toâ, Ahmadinejad insisted. âIf we look at a map from seventy years ago, we will see that Israel never existedâ.
Asked about the U.S. and German leadersâ positions, the Revolutionary Guards commander-turned-President said, âEveryone is free to make comments, but I ask this: are these two individuals supporters of Israel or not? If they are then they are also liable for their crimesâ.
He said that those who support Israel must be prosecuted for war crimes, so âthese people better watch what they sayâ.