TEHRAN, Dec 11: Iran’s foreign ministry said on Sunday it was surprised that President Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has come in for yet more international condemnation for his latest anti-Israeli outburst. Several other senior officials rallied behind Iran’s straight-talking president, who described Israel as a tumour that should be moved to Europe and evoking the cause of Holocaust deniers.

“I’m surprised by the reaction to these comments. The president’s statements were clear: if the Europeans have treated the Jews badly, they have to compensate at their own expense, not at the expense of the region,” foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.

“It wasn’t anything new, we have said that before. The Europeans are trying to deviate the issue and sabotage the real message,” Mr Asefi said

Mr Ahmadinejad, who in October said arch-enemy Israel should be wiped off the map, said on Thursday that if Germany and Austria believed Jews were massacred during the World War II, a state of Israel should be established on their soil.

His comments were condemned by Austria, Germany, Israel, the United States, Turkey and Russia. The UN Security Council also issued a statement to condemn the remarks about Israel and the denial of the Holocaust by Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

But Mr Asefi said Mr Ahmadinejad had merely given an expression of two theories, not acceptance or rejection — an apparent reference to Mr Ahmadinejad’s comment that the Holocaust was a matter of belief being interpreted as Holocaust denial.

“Why don’t the Europeans want to listen to others? They just support one side. If some of the Jews have been mistreated, there is no excuse for Israel to play the victim in the region and to pressure countries in the region,” Mr Asefi said.

He said: “Muslims do not approve of genocide but are surprised over the silence when Zionist regime threatens countries with war.”

Mr Asefi also said that the uproar over Mr Ahmadinejad’s remarks was a sign of the weakness of the Zionist regime, which despite its big words is in its “worst ever condition.”

“I’m surprised that the Europeans cannot tolerate others’ opinions. They are used to talking and want others to listen to them,” he added.

“The Zionist regime cannot use the killing of a number of Jews, which no-one, including Muslims, condones, as a pretext to continue its policies of oppression,” Mr Asefi said.

In his comments, Ahmadinejad had told Germany and Austria to “come and give one, two or any number of your provinces to the Zionist regime so they can create a country there which all of Europe will support and the problem will be solved at its root.”

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Hadad-Adel said expressing such an idea was nothing new, and defended the right of revisionist historians to question the Holocaust.

“There was even an idea to create a Jewish state in Argentina. There should be a logical response to what the president said, not a polemic,” he told reporters.

“It is not the first time that doubts have been cast about this issue (the Holocaust). Those who disagree should be allowed to express their ideas, that is what Mr Ahmadinejad said,” Mr Hadad-Adel told reporters.

“What Ahmadinejad said was important. Why should we not let researchers carry out research? We cannot close the door on research. We cannot prevent people from doubting. We even doubt the existence of God, so why not express doubts on other subjects?” he said.

Elected on an platform of restoring the “purity” of the Islamic Revolution, Ahmadinejad’s stance has worried European countries seeking to strike a deal over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Israel is increasingly worried about Iran’s ballistic missile programme, and some Israeli officials have openly raised the possibility of conducting pre-emptive military strikes against the Islamic republic.

The conservative Kayhan newspaper, in an editorial said Western outcry over Mr Ahmadinejad’s comments had only served to bring his remarks to a larger audience.

“Now there are many reports about how Mr Ahmadinejad is extraordinarily popular among the people of the Middle East and Muslims,” it said.

But academic Mehdi Motaharnia said the comments could strengthen international opposition to Iran.

“Israel ... can exploit such comments by Iranian officials to mobilise all countries against Iran,” the Etemad newspaper quoted him as saying.—Reuters/AFP