Iranian Leader Softens Anti-Israel Rhetoric in UN Speech

Iran’s president made no overt calls for Israel’s destruction and omitted any mention of his nation’s disputed nuclear program during a United Nations speech that instead offered his vision of a spiritual world.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s address to the annual UN General Assembly yesterday was tame by comparison to his previous appearances before the world body and didn’t prompt walkouts by Western delegations as in the past. The U.S., Israel and Canada boycotted the speech to protest past offensive remarks.

The Iranian leader couched his words as an appeal for peace, asserting that “Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus” and other religions aren’t hostile to one another and “are all devoted to the cause of justice, purity and love,” according to an English translation.

Still, Ahmadinejad denounced what he called a “continued threat by the uncivilized Zionists to resort to military action against our great nation.” He also criticized intimidation through nuclear weapons and “wrong management of the world” by the “self-proclaimed centers of power who have entrusted themselves to the Devil,” an apparent dig at the U.S. and other Western powers.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-27/iranian-leader-softens-anti-israel-rhetoric-in-un-speech.html