Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came out with fists flying just two days before his U.N. General Assembly speech on Monday. Rather than disregarding and omitting inflammatory language, the Middle Eastern despot told reporters leading up to the event that Israel has no roots in the region and that the nation will be "eliminated."
Ahmadinejad wasn't done there, though. He lambasted Israel's proclamation that the nation will potentially attack Iran's nuclear facilities, The Jewish Daily Forward reports. As he has done in the past, the fiery leader reiterated his claim that Iran's nuclear ambitions are peaceful in nature and that there is nothing sinister at play.
"Fundamentally, we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists," the Iranian president, who is scheduled to speak before the Assembly on Wednesday, said. "We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves."
Ignoring U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's warning not to engage in dangerous rhetoric, specifically considering all that's going on in the Middle East of late, Ahmadinejad waged a full-scale attack on Israel's right to exist.
"Iran has been around for the last seven, 10 thousand years. They (the Israelis) have been occupying those territories for the last 60 to 70 years, with the support and force of the Westerners," he continued. "They have no roots there in history."
Ahmadinejad made similar comments on CNN this week:
Among is more curious commentary, Ahmadinejad said that Israel has found itself "at a dead end" and that the nation may be "seeking new adventures" in its threats against Iran. Then, there was the cryptic pseudo-threat about Israel being "eliminated."
“We don’t even count them as any part of any equation for Iran," the leader proclaimed. "During a historical phase, they represent minimal disturbances that come into the picture and are then eliminated."
When it came to the United States, Ahmadinejad took a more soft-spoken tone, seemingly prepared and ready for "dialogue," so long as it is "under conditions that are based on fairness and mutual respect."
Read more about the Iranian president's comments over at the Jewish Forward.
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