Tens of thousands of Iranians staged anti-Israel protests across the country yesterday and repeated calls by their ultraconservative president demanding the Jewish state's destruction.
World leaders condemned remarks made on Wednesday by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who repeated the words of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of Iran's Islamic revolution, by saying: "Israel must be wiped off the map."
Iran's Embassy in Moscow, however, tried to soften the impact of Ahmadinejad's comments, releasing a statement on Friday saying the president "did not have any intention to speak in sharp terms and engage in a conflict."
But the president joined thousands of Iranians in one of multiple street protests being held in the capital, Tehran, yesterday. Rallies were being held in other cities such as Mashad in Iran's east.
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 US President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon
The demonstrations are being held as part of annual al-Quds -- Jerusalem -- Day protests, which were first held in 1979 after Shiite Muslim clerics took power in Iran.
The state-organized rallies are expected to grow throughout the day ahead of midday prayer sermons across Iran. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have attended previous protests.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki defended his president's comments, saying they represented Iran's long-held policy of not recognizing Israel.
"Unfortunately the Western countries have remained silent on the increasing inhuman activities of Israel," Mottaki told Associated Press Television News (APTN) during a Tehran march.
Shiite cleric Saeed Farahani also accused the West of blowing Ahmadinejad's comments out of proportion.
"They [the West] are now stressing on the president's comment about Israel and when it's finished they will stress on other issues to isolate our country," Farahani told APTN. "This is a fight between right and wrong and this fight will never end."
Countries from Britain and Russia denounced Ahmadinejad's comments. The US said the Iranian leader's hostility underscored Washington's concern over Iran's nuclear program. Israel said the Persian state should be suspended from the UN.
Iran's embassy in Moscow said that Ahmadinejad "underlined the key position of Iran, based on the necessity to hold free elections on the occupied territories."
The statement came after Moscow, a key ally of Iran, summoned the Persian state's ambassador seeking an explanation for Ahmadinejad's remarks.
Iran's seven state-run TV stations devoted coverage yesterday to programs condemning the Jewish state and praising the Palestinian resistance since the 1948 creation of Israel.
also see story:
Iran's president has bark, but his bite has limits
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
RSS