Thoughts on Iran

The foreign ministry of Iran has distanced itself from their president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I may be Jewish but I WOULD NEVER call on destruction of the Arab states. However, the Arab countries do need to take care of the militant terrorists, many of which are homicide bombers.

Iran said on Saturday it stood by its U.N. commitments not to use violence against another country, responding to international criticism over remarks by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowing to destroy Israel.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is committed to its U.N. charter commitments," a Foreign Ministry statement read. "It has never used force against a second country or threatened the use of force."

Ahmadinejad on Friday stood by his controversial stand that Israel should be "wiped off the map."[...]

The United States said Ahmadinejad's remarks underscored its fears that Tehran is pursuing nuclear arms. Tehran denies the charge.

I've yet to read about American reaction to this latest comment but both China and Turkey have condemned the comments.

China's Foreign Ministry released a statement criticizing the comments by Ahmadinedjad.

"This kind of opinion violates the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and intensifies tensions in the Middle East and goes against the interests of the Middle East region and its people," said the statement, which was in response to a media request for comment.

"China feels unease regarding this opinion," it said, but did not elaborate.

Turkey, the only Muslim country to have close security ties with Israel, added its voice on Friday to the international condemnation of Ahmadinejad's remarks.

"Turkey believes that regional conflicts can only be solved through dialogue and peaceful methods," Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said in a statement.

To add to all that, Israel has made the call that Iran be expelled from the United Nations. With the comments by Iran's president, they probably should be expelled. I am pleased that the Iranian Foreign Ministry is distancing itself from the president's remarks.

The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Gillerman, asked the rotating president of the UN Security Council to expel Iran from the world body. Gillerman wrote in a letter that Ahmadinejad's comments require a strong and decisive response from the international community, Israel Radio reported. He said no country that calls for violence and destruction should be allowed membership in the UN.

Sharon said at a meeting Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that a country which calls for the destruction of another people cannot be a member of the UN. "Such a country that has nuclear weapons is a danger, not only to Israel and the Middle East, but also to Europe," Sharon said.

Senior Foreign Ministry officials convened Thursday to decide on the best policy for handling the issue. Some of the officials expressed reservations about the diplomatic offensive, saying it would be better for Israel to keep a low profile; however, this position was rejected.

The Iranian foreign ministry called on its ambassadors in Europe to adopt countermeasures in response to their summoning by European foreign ministries. It called on the Iranian diplomats to present their "serious protest" against the European ignorance of "crimes committed by the Zionists and suppression of the Palestinian nation."

What did Secretary-General Kofi Annan have to say about all this?

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reprimanded Iran's president Thursday for calling for the destruction of Israel. Annan expressed "dismay" over Ahmadinejad's comments in a statement released in a special bulletin by his spokesman.

"Israel is a long-standing member of the United Nations with the same rights and obligations as every other member," Annan said in a statement. The UN Charter is opposed to threats or use of force against the territorial integrity and political independence of any state, he said. Annan said he plans to visit Iran in "the next few weeks" and would put the Middle East peace process and the right of all states to live in peace and safety within secure borders at the top of his agenda.

I join StandWithUs.com in condemning the Iranian president's remarks on Israel being wiped off the map.

"Iran’s ferocious hatred of Israel is now out in the open," said StandWithUs national president Esther Renzer. "There can no longer be any confusion or ambiguity about what they've been saying privately for decades because now they are calling for it publicly; the complete annihilation of another country - Israel. Anybody who supports freedom and democracy should be repulsed by this expanding form of dangerous global hate speech."