Iranian president insists Holocaust is a 'myth'

CTV.ca News Staff

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday called the Holocaust a myth, sparking a flourish of international condemnation.

"Today, they have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion and the prophets," Ahmadinejad told a crowd in the southeastern city of Zahedan.

He added that Europeans are responsible for any crimes that may have been committed against Jews, and that the "oppressed Palestinian nation" should not have to pay the price of land.
Ahmadinejad suggested that Canada or the United States give part of their land to the Jews to establish a state.

"This is our proposal: give a part of your own land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to them so that the Jews can establish their country," he said.

Ahmadinejad also blamed the West for harming Muslims by invading their countries and plundering their wealth.

"If your civilization consists of aggression, making oppressed people homeless, suffocating the voices of justice and bringing poverty to a majority of the world's people, we say loudly that we hate your hollow civilization," Ahmadinejad said, followed by cries of "God is the Greatest" from the crowd.

His speech, broadcast live on state television, was condemned by Israel, which said the comments illustrate that Iran's "rogue regime" was acting outside acceptable international norms.

"The repeated outrageous remarks of the Iranian president show clearly the mind-set of the ruling clique in Tehran," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mark Regev, "and indicate clearly the extremist policy goals of the regime."

Within Iran, the comments were blasted by some of Ahmadinejad's conservative allies who fear he's hurting Iran's image.

The president's views sharply conflict with those of his predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, a relative moderate who urged dialogue with other nations. And moderate Iranians have called on the ruling Islamic establishment to rein in the president.

But this isn't the first time Ahmadinejad has uttered such statements. Last week he expressed doubt that the Nazi destruction of six million European Jews during the Second World War had occurred, drawing a rebuke from the United Nations Security Council.

He drew international condemnation in October when he called Israel a "tumour" which must be "wiped off the map."

But Wednesday was the first time he publicly denied the Holocaust.

Reaction in Europe

Germany Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called Ahmadinejad's statement "shocking and unacceptable," and said his government had summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires to make "unmistakably clear" its displeasure.

European Commission spokesperson Emma Udwin also expressed condemned the Iranian president's remarks.

"Such interventions will do nothing to rebuild confidence in Iran's intentions," Udwin said, referring to fears about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Steinmeier added that the Holocaust remarks could weigh on European Union efforts to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program. The West is keeping a close eye on Iran over its insistence on enriching uranium to fuel its first nuclear reactor, which is due to start generating electricity next year.

"The recent remarks by the Iranian president ... are certainly shocking and unacceptable," he told reporters. "I cannot deny that they may weigh on our bilateral relations and naturally also on the chances for the negotiations on (Iran's) so-called nuclear dossier."
Ahmadinejad is a former Revolutionary Guardsman and mayor of Tehran who was elected as Iran's president in June.

He has criticized the U.S. for refusing to sell Iran spare parts for its civilian planes as part of its long standing embargo against the country.

There have been a series of plane accidents in Iran, the most recent one involving a military transport plane that crashed into a building in Tehran in December, killing 115 people. Iranian officials blamed Washington for the crashes, saying they're partly caused by the difficulty in obtaining spare parts.

"No country is authorized to impose spare-part sanctions against another country. Nothing can justify this," Ahmadinejad said Wednesday.

Ahmadinejad said the denial of spare parts was a reason why Iran would not trust Western promises to give it nuclear fuel.

With files from the Associated Press