The call for the destruction of Israel by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – the religious psychopath president of Iran – has brought down the ire of even Kofi Annan. Well, if not ire, at least “dismay.”
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has voiced his “dismay” over remarks by Iran’s president calling for Israel to be “wiped off the map”.
In a rare rebuke, Mr Annan reminded Iran that, as a UN signatory, it had undertaken not to threaten the use of force against another state.
While President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s words provoked international outrage, Tehran said the West was over-reacting.
Israel has called for Iran to be expelled from the UN.
A statement released by the UN said the secretary general “read with dismay the remarks about Israel attributed to Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad”.
It is rare for Kofi Annan to publicly rebuke a UN member state, says the BBC’s Laura Trevelyan in New York.
Tony Blair, no surprise, was a bit more forthcoming:
“If they carry on like this, people are going to believe they are a real threat to world stability,” Mr Blair said. “If they carry on like this, the question people are going to ask me is, ‘When are you going to do something about this?'”
Describing himself as “very angry” and Mr Ahmadinejad’s comments as “a disgrace,” the Prime Minister said he held very little hope of Iran changing course without some form of international intervention.
The Arab states were silent on the matter.
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