UNITED NATIONS, Oct 28: The UN Security Council on Friday condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s statement that Israel should be wiped off the map, amid an international outcry over the comment.

“The Security Council condemns the remarks about Israel attributed to Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of the Islamic republic of Iran,” said a statement read by the president of the council for the month, Romanian ambassador Mihnea Motoc.

Britain had pushed strongly for the resolution, with London’s UN envoy Emyr Jones Parry describing Mr Ahmadinejad’s remarks as ‘totally out of keeping with the charter of the United Nations’.

A British diplomat said a statement adopted by the 25-member European Union at the Hampton Court summit in London Thursday was circulated in the council.

In their statement, the EU leaders “condemned in the strongest terms” the Iranian leader’s words.

“Calls for violence, and for the destruction of any state, are manifestly inconsistent with any claim to be a mature and responsible member of the international community,” they said.

Turkey expressed disapproval of the Iranian’s words, and said Ankara would make no changes to its flourishing ties with the Jewish state.

“Naturally it is not possible for us to approve of such a statement,” the Turkish foreign ministry said.

Spain said Mr Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric had no place in civilized society.

But with Mr Ahmadinejad standing by his words and Iranians observing the Al Quds Day with huge rallies, 25,000 Muslims rallied in northern Nigeria’s largest city of Kano to support the call for Israel’s destruction.

Britain pressed for a strong condemnation by the UN Security Council of the Iranian statement.

Britain’s UN envoy Emyr Jones Parry described Mr Ahmadinejad’s remarks as ‘totally out of keeping with the charter of the United Nations’.

A British diplomat said a statement adopted by the 25-member European Union at the Hampton Court summit in London on Thursday was circulated in the council.

In their statement, the EU leaders ‘condemned in the strongest terms’ the Iranian leader’s words.

“Calls for violence, and for the destruction of any state, are manifestly inconsistent with any claim to be a mature and responsible member of the international community,” they said.

Mr Annan reminded all member states that Israel is a long-standing United Nations member ‘with the same rights and obligations as every other member’.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that Iran should be expelled from the UN.

“No member state that calls for violence, death and destruction, as the president of Iran did ... deserves a seat in this civilized body, the United Nations,” the Israeli United Nations envoy said in letters to Mr Annan and the current president of the UN Security Council.

In Rome, a Vatican statement said: “The grave events of the past days in the Holy Land have caused great concern in the Holy See, which in unison with the international community strongly condemns all acts of violence: the terrorist attack in Hadera the reprisals which followed and particularly grave and unacceptable comments denying the right to existence of Israel.”

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said that ‘in an alliance of civilizations such words have no place’, adding that governments had a ‘commitment to accept, hold a dialogue with and respect their fellows’.—AFP

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