What Ahmadinejad Really Said

In an earlier post, I pointed out that the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, did not call for "Israel to be wiped off the map", and that Western news agencies were aware of this when they falsely reported that he had. He, in fact referred to the Qods Occupier regime, and in any event quoted Imam Khomeini (ra), adding,

"This sentence is very wise. The issue of Palestine is not an issue on which we can compromise."

Thus, it was the Qods Occupier regime that he suggested must be wiped from the map. Moreover, President Ahmadinejad was not saying anything new, this is not only the stated view of Imam Khomeini (ra); it is the view of Ayatullah al-Uzma Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, and the official position of the the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Had "Qods Occupier regime" been used in the Western translation, instead of Israel, very few people would have had any difficulty grasping, that he was calling for regime change. Nor would any person who read the totality of his speech, perceive that he was suggesting that Iran has any intention of attacking Israel.

In fact during that conference, "A world without Zionism", he said:

"The Palestinian issue has not ended. It would end when a government belonging to the Palestinian people takes over, the homeless return home and a free election is held to form a government representing all people."

A point later repeated during his speech at "The Third International Conference on Qods and Support for the Rights of Palestinian People":

"Only a government chosen by the people can resolve the problem of Palestine and the people of the region. The right to govern belongs to all people of Palestine and they must decide the governing model of their choice and elect their own officials. For this purpose, there must be an opportunity for all genuine Palestinians; be they Muslims, Christians, or Jews, residing in Palestine or in Diaspora, to participate in a referendum to decide the political system of their choice and elect their leaders."

"Ever since the Palestinian nation focused attention on promotion of an Islamic atmosphere and attitude, day-to-day success and progress have been witnessed among Palestinians."

Hence what he was calling for was democracy, and the right of return; yet suggesting that Palestinians would bring this about through their own endeavor; particularly, since they had turned away from the Arab Nationalism of Fatah and turned to the Islamic political movements. He also described the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as a "trick," designed to elicit recognition of the Zionist regime of Israel, from Islamic states.

He warned,

"The world arrogant powers founded the Zionist regime at the heart of the Muslim world as a base for their own expansionist intentions."

Moreover, what President Ahmadinejad said on the demise of this "fictitious regime" was no more or less than he said during his speech at "The Third International Conference on Qods and Support for the Rights of Palestinian People":

"The young tree of resistance in Palestine is blooming and blooms of faith and desire for freedom are flowering. The Zionist regime is a decaying and crumbling tree that will fall with a storm."

"A regime based on injustice and threat cannot survive. Today all conditions for the freedom of Palestine are on hand and available. Vigilance, unity and resistance are the keys to victory."

The truth then, is that his opposition is to a Western imperialism and a "Jewish State", which excludes the religious and racial identity of the majority of the indigenous population. He is not talking of the destruction or exclusion of Jews from Palestine; far from it, he is talking of integration; it is Israel that is committed to apartheid, ethnic-cleansing, genocide and belligerence.