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Teheran faces flak

Ewen MacAskill and Chris McGreal

London: Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Wednesday called for Israel to be ``wiped off the face of the earth''. It is the most uncompromising statement about Israel by a senior Iranian in the last five years and he was immediately condemned by the U.S., Britain, France, Germany and Israel.

The White House spokesman Scott McClellan said such remarks confirmed why the U.S. was fearful of Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb. This was echoed by the British Foreign Office, whose spokesman described the speech as ``deeply disturbing''. He added: ``He is only going to heighten concern yet further about Iran's nuclear ambitions.'' Mr. Ahmadinejad, speaking to 3,000 students at a Teheran conference called The World Without Zionism, condemned Muslim countries that recognise Israel. He said a new wave of Palestinian attacks could finish off Israel. His remarks came as a Palestinian suicide bomber, after a relative lull in violence, killed five people in Hadera in Israel.

The U.S. and Britain are pressing for Iran to be referred to the U.N. Security Council over its alleged nuclear weapons ambitions. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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