Italy said Sunday that Iran was isolating itself with its call for the destruction of Israel — the latest retort reflecting increasing diplomatic tensions between the two countries. "No one wants to isolate Iran," Italy's Foreign Ministry said. "On the contrary we all hope that Tehran, adopting responsible conduct, wants to play a role of stabilization in its region, but it is Iran which inevitably isolates itself the moment it denies the right to exist to another state and other people."The statement came in response to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi's criticism of Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini. Asefi criticized Fini for calling on the international community to help guarantee Israel's security and condemning Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's assertion last month that the Jewish state should be "wiped off the map." Fini's comments are "not compatible with the role of foreign minister and with the glory and honor of the Italian nation," Asefi said during his weekly news conference Sunday. The Italian ministry shot back, saying, "Minister Fini certainly cannot accept lessons on conduct coming from a foreign (ministry) spokesman."
| That's Italian for "piss off, turban boy!" |