Iranians Hold Anti-Israel Demonstrations

It's very convenient that way. As long as the Palestinians are oppressed, the rest of the Muslim countries can continue their reign of terror on Israel. They then claim to have an excuse: the occupation.

Would they ever help their Muslim brothers get out of refugee camps?

No. Too easy to blame all the problems of the world on Israel.

about Israel's occupation are in fact supporters of the occupation?

This makes no sense. Iran has an anti-Israeli policy because of Israeli actions not because they want an excuse to attack an entirely blameless, innocent Israel, for the sake of those undeserving Palestinians (who just love being oppressed).

FFS.

Far from blaming the world's problems on Israel most people restrict themselves to the racist nature of the Israeli state itself and its murderous occcupation of Palestine. They also complain about the baleful effect zionism has had on the entire region and its poisonous effect in western politics.


Edit: spelling

but the very existance of the state of Israel. Top put it another way: for Iran, Tel Aviv is on "occupied" land.

It would be very scary if Iran ever gets a nuclear bomb. I think US should support Israel in launching air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. After all, they were successful in doing the same against Iraq.

More war= more dollars to the Repukes.

What are you doing on this site supporting illegal attacks against sovereign nations?

You may not like Iran's position but you have no right to attack them.

Israel is the criminal nation here, not Iran. Israel is in breach of international law, not Iran.

If you think Israel has a right to exist then why hasn't Palestine?

anyhow, how do we even know? it's an example of how insane we are as a species.

anyhow, how do we even know? it's an example of how insane we are as a species.

The blameless victims.

Chaos and ruin follows them, of their own volition.

No one said the occuapation was good. It isn't, and has been terrible for the region, I agree.

But for Iran to ride on the coattails of the Palestinians' misery, and call for annhilation of a sovereign country?

Big boo boo.

Ahmadinejad made a appearance at the Tehran rally and took a short walk with the crowd. He rejected the West's condemnation of his original comments that "Israel must be wiped off the map" as "invalid.

"My words were the Iranian nation's words. Westerners are
free to comment, but their reactions are invalid," Ahmadinejad told the official IRNA news agency.

State-run TV showed Ahmadinejad surrounded by protesters, many holding banners carrying anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian slogans including "Death to Israel, death to America."

Young girls wearing head-to-toe black chadors with green headbands covered in Islamic verses chanted anti-Israeli slogans below a banner showing caricatures of U.S. President George Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon.

Just prior, however, Iran sought to smooth over the effects of Ahmadinejad's comments, saying through its Moscow embassy that he did not mean to "speak up in such sharp terms."

World leaders have condemned the remarks, which Ahmadinejad made Wednesday. He was repeating the words of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, founder of Iran's Islamic revolution.

"Mr. Ahmadinejad did not have any intention to speak up in such sharp terms and enter into a conflict," the Iranian Embassy in Moscow said in a statement.

"It's absolutely clear that, in his remarks, Mr. Ahmadinejad, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, underlined the key position of Iran, based on the necessity to hold free elections on the occupied territories," the statement said.

But Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was less diplomatic, telling state-run television late Thursday that Iran does not consider Israel legitimate.

"The comments expressed by the president is the declared and specific policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said. "We don't recognize the Zionist regime and don't consider it legitimate." Mottaki also said the massive demonstrations would illustrate the anger of the Islamic world over the Jewish state's existence.

China, Turkey condemn comments

-more-

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/638943.html

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Welcome to DU!! :toast:

TEHRAN, Iran // Iran's hard-line president marched in the streets of Tehran today alongside tens of thousands of people supporting his call for the destruction of Israel -- remarks that have been condemned around the world.

The rally was one of several state-organized, anti-Israel demonstrations across the country that drew more than a million Iranians.

---

The state-organized demonstrations are part of the annual al-Quds Day -- or Jerusalem Day -- protests, which were first held in 1979 after Shiite Muslim clerics took power in Iran. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have attended previous rallies.

At least 200,000 people rallied in Tehran, some chanting, "Israel is approaching its death," and wearing white shrouds symbolizing their readiness to die for their cause. Others carried banners reading, "Israel must be destroyed."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-iran1028,0,1354408.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines

:scared:

Wild stuff:

To a cheering audience that at several points erupted with chants of "death to Israel, death to America, death to England", Ahmadinejad continued, "Once, his eminency Imam Khomeini - leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution], stated that the illegal regime of the Pahlavis must go, and it happened. Then he said the Soviet empire would disappear, and it happened. He also said that this evil man Saddam must be punished, and we see that he is under trial in his country. His eminency also said that the occupation regime of Qods must be wiped off from the map of the world, and with the help of the Almighty, we shall soon experience a world without America and Zionism, notwithstanding those who doubt."

All this is completely unrelated to the Iraq fandango, of course.

Iraq has heated up the anti-American sentiments, but Iran has always wanted to destroy Israel. Iraq is just fuel to an already very hot fire.

And certainly should not be taken as signalling any major change in the regional situation, certainly not justifying aggressive action from Israel or the US.

Hard liners in Iran are militantly anti-Israel and its western allies, and Iran now has a hard liner for a president. This is nothing we didnt know before these comments.

And maybe one that says "Death to Carter," just for nostalgia's sake. When your civilization starts reliving its glory days, you know things are about to decline.

I guess retro is 'in'

But whose counting, right?

to the U.S. and turn into some sort of "Fortress America"? Sooner or later, we will have to deal with Iran. Those that propose America become an isolationist country, would end civilization as we know it. We could hold out for a while, but not forever. I hate war (been there, done that) but what is the alternative? Let some loonies go on some sort of global rampage? Wish I had answers to my own ?'s

The Sunnis to the west wouldn't allow it. The Pakistanis to the East wouldn't allow it. And the Russians to the north wouldn't allow it. They have no power.

The only reason their President makes these statements is to unite the people of Iran against a common enemy and drum up support for an unpopular regime. China does the same thing with Japan and Taiwan and Bush does the same thing with OBL and terrorism.

Move along, folks...Nothing to see here

What f*cking arrogance. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

Try promoting international law rather than crimes.

US has, I feel a draft !