By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
Associated Press Writer
8 minutes ago
TEHRAN, Iran - The president of Iran again lashed out at Israel on Friday and said it was "heading toward annihilation," just days after Tehran raised fears about its nuclear activities by saying it successfully enriched uranium for the first time.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel a "permanent threat" to the Middle East that will "soon" be liberated. He also appeared to again question whether the Holocaust really happened.
"Like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation," Ahmadinejad said at the opening of a conference in support of the Palestinians. "The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm."
Ahmadinejad provoked a world outcry in October when he said Israel should be "wiped off the map."
On Friday, he repeated his previous line on the Holocaust, saying: "If such a disaster is true, why should the people of this region pay the price? Why does the Palestinian nation have to be suppressed and have its land occupied?"
The land of Palestine, he said, referring to the British mandated territory that includes all of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, "will be freed soon."
He did not say how this would be achieved, but insisted to the audience of at least 900 people: "Believe that Palestine will be freed soon."
"The existence of this (Israeli) regime is a permanent threat" to the Middle East, he added. "Its existence has harmed the dignity of Islamic nations."
The three-day conference on Palestine is being attended by officials of Hamas, the ruling party in the Palestinian territories.
Iran has previously said it will give money to the Palestinian Authority to make up for the withdrawal of donations by Western nations who object to Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel and renounce violence. But no figure has been published.
On Tuesday, Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully enriched uranium using a battery of 164 centrifuges, a significant step toward the large-scale production of enriched uranium required for either fueling nuclear reactors or making nuclear weapons.
The United States, France and Israel accuse Iran of using a civilian nuclear program to secretly build a weapon. Iran denies this, saying its program is confined to generating electricity.
The U.N. Security Council has given Iran until April 28 to cease enrichment. But Iran has rejected the demand.
The chief of Israeli military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, was quoted Wednesday as saying Iran could develop a nuclear bomb "within three years, by the end of the decade."
At the rate this is going it is likely that the majority of the UN will interveen. If Iran have nuclear capabilties then they are a threat to all countries who are not Islamic.
Who is to say that if Isreal is destroyed then the fanatical leaders of Iran wont turn their attention on Europe or America?
"there's only one way to win a war: shout, shout, and shout again!" - The Duke of Wellington ((Blackadder - Stephen Fry))
Just another reason for the US to have to, once again, go off to a war that we don't need to get involved in. *sigh* This crap never ends. People, somewhere, are always wanting to kill someone else. It gets to a point where you're like.... "Just do it, and get it over with, please"
But, like White Tiger said...
quote:
Who is to say that if Isreal is destroyed then the fanatical leaders of Iran wont turn their attention on Europe or America?
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
White Tiger said this in post #3 : At the rate this is going it is likely that the majority of the UN will interveen. If Iran have nuclear capabilties then they are a threat to all countries who are not Islamic.
Who is to say that if Isreal is destroyed then the fanatical leaders of Iran wont turn their attention on Europe or America?
How much Bush adm paying you to create environment of fear. What about Israel? They wiill not allow inspection of nuclear weapons or even admit they have capability?
Brazil leader "vows" to have them by 2010? Scotland was exposed under Freedom of Info Act to have Nuclear program? South Africa has Nuclear program because of Israel help? What country used them on innocent people....ect.
I was not trying ro single out Iran as a terrorist country. I was only saying that Iran's Fanantical leaders, should they get nuclear capabilities would be a threat. Not because they are Islamic but because they are promoting the act of War in the middle east.
As I recall the Vietnameese war started because of the Russians promoting the comunist leaders of Korea to take power an the 'West' (Americans, British ect) doing the same to the none comunists.
The fact of the matter is that any country that is willing to promote war instead of peace can be a threat. The fact that Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons makes them a worry for the UN. It was, after all, Sadam Hussiens ill-will towards the west and the fear of nuclear attacks that lead to the Iraq war.
And by the way Malcolm, for me, being English as I am, it would be Tony Blair intsead of George Bush
"there's only one way to win a war: shout, shout, and shout again!" - The Duke of Wellington ((Blackadder - Stephen Fry))
White Tiger said this in post #3 : At the rate this is going it is likely that the majority of the UN will interveen. If Iran have nuclear capabilties then they are a threat to all countries who are not Islamic.
Who is to say that if Isreal is destroyed then the fanatical leaders of Iran wont turn their attention on Europe or America?
Good points.
Let us not forget that if Iran were to nuke Israel, any part of Israel, we know that Israel would return fire with nukes as well. they have some where around 60 in stock.
Hezbollah is pacing this current conflict by slowly raising the threat at the same time that Israel appears to be chipping away at their strength. I have a feeling that Hezbollah is going to surprise the world with a spectacular strike on Israel; something way out of proportion to what has happened so far. I don't think it will be nuclear, but I would not rule out some kind of chemical weapon on a relatively sophisticated Chinese or North Korean missile. Then the big question will be, how will Israel retaliate and against who?
04-14-2006 05:35 PM
