Posted on 10/27/2005 10:03:21 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
LONDON - Governments around the world expressed shock and scorn Thursday at the Iranian president's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map," and several summoned Tehran's envoys in their capitals for a reprimand.
However, Israeli calls for Iran to be expelled from the United Nations over the remarks by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were not immediately taken up by other nations.
In a speech Wednesday, Ahmadinejad denounced Israel and said a new wave of Palestinian attacks "will wipe this stigma from the face of the Islamic world." Citing the words of the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Ahmadinejad said: "Israel must be wiped off the map."
Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday called for Iran to be expelled from the U.N., saying "a state which calls for the destruction of another people cannot be a member of the United Nations." Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Israel had not decided whether to ask officially for Iran's removal.
Israel's deputy ambassador to Britain, Zvi Rav-Ner, said it was unheard of for a U.N. member state to call "for genocide and wiping off of another member state of the U.N."
"This is a clear contravention and breach of the U.N. charter and it should be dealt with by the international community," he told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard called Ahmadinejad's remarks "dangerous" and said they required a U.N. response, although he wasn't specific.
"To have the president of any country saying another should be wiped off the face of the earth is a reminder of the psychological pressure, quite apart from the actual pressure, that the state of Israel is under, and this obviously is an issue that the United Nations has to address," he said.
The 25 European Union leaders, meeting at Hampton Court Palace near London, also condemned the remarks, saying they "will cause concern about Iran's role in the region and its future intentions."
"Calls for violence, and for the destruction of any state, are manifestly inconsistent with any claim to be a mature and responsible member of the international community," the EU leaders said in a statement.
Relations between the EU and Iran have deteriorated in recent months after negotiations with Tehran failed to get Iran to drop its nuclear program, which the EU and the United States fears is being used to build weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Ahmadinejad's remarks "serve to underscore our concern as well as the international community's concern about Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons."
Newspapers across the Middle East, meanwhile, reported Wednesday's speech by Ahmadinejad without comment, many of them on their front pages.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry and Cabinet officials said Cairo would have nothing to say on the address. Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher also declined comment.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the Iranian leader's comments were "completely unacceptable," but when asked whether Iran should be expelled from the U.N., he said: "I will not make any concrete proposal now."
Britain's Foreign Office called Ahmadinejad's comments "deeply disturbing and sickening," and said Iran's charge d'affaires would be summoned later Thursday.
France, Russia, Spain and The Netherlands summoned the Iranian ambassadors in their capitals to explain the remarks.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said the ambassador "was reminded that the right of Israel to exist cannot be contested."
The German and Austrian foreign ministries also called in Iranian diplomatic representatives to protest the comments, while Italy said the remarks confirmed concerns over Tehran's nuclear program.
"The contents and tone of such unacceptable statements confirm worries over the political positions pursued by the new Iranian leadership, especially concerning the nuclear dossier," the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, on a visit to Israel, criticized the Iranian leader. "I don't agree that anyone should challenge the right of any U.N. member to exist, this is indeed inadmissible," Lavrov said.
But on Wednesday he brushed off Israel's calls for Security Council action, saying the matter is "too serious to be guided by politics."
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew condemned the comments in a strongly worded statement.
"We are in the 21st century. Canada will never accept such hatred, intolerance and anti-Semitism. Never," the statement said.
Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov seen during their meeting in Tel Aviv, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005. Shimon Peres on Thursday said Iran should be expelled from the United Nations after its new president said Israel should be 'wiped off the map,' and Russia's visiting foreign minister called the Iranian comments 'inadmissible.' (AP Photo)
And I'm not liking the looks of it!
How about we express some anger in the form of precision guided munitions directed at their nuclear facilities?
what wasn't mentioned was the Iranian call to KILL all Jews world-wide. Scary.
Iran can say this but banks can't give out piggy banks and Wendy's must change ice cream package etc. so that Muslims aren't offended.
" However, Israeli calls for Iran to be expelled from the United Nations over the remarks by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad"
--- I'm waiting for Israel to be censured by the un for daring to complain.
And I'm not liking the looks of it!
Thanks to Islam and its appeasement by our leaders...the twenty-first century is starting to look like the seventh.
But Hugo Chavez still loves the Iranians.
Iran has issued this millenium's Final Solution.
We need to get the other ME countries on record to oppose this and to agree that it is not "islamic duty" for Iran to develop and use nukes. Starting with Baradei.
HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah, that's gonna happen!
And after Iran explodes a nuke in Israel the "World" will no doubt express extreme dismay. I'm sure Kofe will also issue a statement of condemnaiton and a stern warning that another bomb will not be tolerated.
what was the original and founding purpose of the UN?
these "bad boys" have violated and desecrated the meaning and purpose
they should be kicked out and remembered as the disgrace to humanity that they are.
Ohmigawd! Cause concern? The Mad Mullahs probably didn't sleep last night! Maybe the Israelis should practice some pre-emptive action. After all, the case could be made that those words were a declaration of war.
Hey, it's a wonderful new world the Muslims are managing to facilitate for themselves. And when all our traditional values have been taken away from us and removed from the public sector because somebody is "offended", maybe THEN we will fight back. But it will probably be too late by then. Sad, isn't it?
Koffi is already drafting up an official condemnation against Israel as I type.
The group voting will be made up the delegates from these countries:
Zimbabwe
Sudan
Iran
Hamastan
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Egpyt
Bangledesh
Pakistan
France
And what do the leaders of the Arab nations say about this? Their silence, thus far, has been deafening. THe destruction of Israel is becoming a louder platform for the islamofacists and is becoming standard dogma for Islam. It is only a matter of time until the entire Muslim world becomes completely open about this objective. Not to destroy Israel will be considered unislamic even outside the radial muslims circles.
It may be too late for the JDAMS.
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