President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a "disgrace to his country," said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday, a day after Ahmadinejad's controversial speech before the UN General Assembly. Ahmadinejad accused Israel of "inhuman policies" in the Palestinian territories and of dominating world political and economic affairs in his speech to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. "That kind of remark is not just intolerable. This president is a disgrace to his country," said Steinmeier in Berlin.
The speech prompted many delegations to walk out of the assembly hall in protest. Israel did not attend at all.
Ahmadinejad assailed Israel for what he said was a barbaric attack on the Gaza Strip last winter and for subjecting the Palestinians to "genocide." He also accused the West of hypocrisy, saying it preached democracy, but violated its fundamental principles.
Addressing Israel, the Iranian leader said, "The awakening of nations and the expansion of freedom worldwide will no longer allow them to continue their hypocrisy and vicious attitudes."
"How can one imagine that the inhuman policies in Palestine may continue?" Ahmadinejad continued. "How can crimes of the occupiers against defenseless women and children and destruction of their homes, farms, hospitals and schools be supported unconditionally by certain governments?"
The Iranian leader said it was time for the world to respond. "It is no longer acceptable that a small minority would dominate the politics, economy and culture of major parts of the world by its complicated networks, and establish a new form of slavery, and harm the reputation of other nations, even European nations and the U.S., to attain its racist ambitions," he said.
Ahmadinejad spoke to a half-empty chamber as he sought to cast himself as a beleaguered champion of the developing world, that he portrayed as under attack from rapacious capitalism. At the same time, the Iranian leader issued stinging attacks on the United States and its allies without calling them by name, prompting a walkout by the U.S. delegation.
At times, Ahmadinejad struck a softer tone, declaring that Tehran was prepared to warmly shake all those hands which are honestly extended to us. He peppered his speech with religious references, invoking the prophets of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Ahmadinejad made a passing reference to the nuclear issue - call for global nuclear disarmament - but most of the speech focused on his usual themes - scathing verbal attacks on Israel and the West. Ahmadinejad also accused foreign forces of spreading "war, bloodshed, aggression, terror and intimidation" in the Middle East, citing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Turning to domestic affairs, Ahmadinejad insisted he won a large majority in June elections. Pro-reform opposition politicians have alleged electoral fraud, and Ahmadinejad has been at the center of political turmoil since then. "Our nation has gone through a glorious and fully democratic election, opening a new chapter for our country in the march towards national progress and enhanced international interactions," he said, adding that Iranian voters "entrusted me once more with a large majority."