YNET NEWS: Iranian president says anniversary celebrations won't save Jewish state from 'annihilation' by Middle Eastern nations
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that Israel is dying and that its 60th anniversary celebrations are an attempt to prevent its ''annihilation.''
His remarks coincided with the arrival of US President George W. Bush in the Middle East to celebrate Israel's 60th birthday and try to revitalize peace efforts.
''The Zionist (Israeli) regime is dying,'' said Ahmadinejad during a speech in the northern Iranian city of Gorgan. ''The criminals assume that by holding celebrations ... they can save the sinister Zionist regime from death and annihilation.''
The hardline Iranian president used an Arabic word, ismihlal, that can also be translated as destruction, death and collapse.
"They should know that regional nations hate this fake and criminal regime and if the smallest and briefest chance is given to regional nations they will destroy (it)," said Ahmadinejad, who often rails against Israel and the United States.
Iran doesn't recognize Israel, and Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction. The threatening exchanges between Iran and Israel have intensified since 2005, when Ahmadinejad said in a speech that Israel will one day be ''wiped off the map.'' The Iranian leader has also alleged that the Holocaust was a ''myth.'' Ahmadinejad: Israel Is ‘Dying’ >>> | May 14, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)
