Europe Condemns Iranian Leader's Remarks

Jill Lawless, The Associated Press:

European governments on Thursday condemned the Iranian president's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map," and Britain summoned a senior Iranian diplomat to the Foreign Office for a reprimand. But the European Union stopped short of backing Israel's call for Iran to be suspended from the United Nations over the remarks.

In a speech Wednesday, Iran's conservative president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, denounced Israel and said a new wave of Palestinian attacks "will wipe this stigma from the face of the Islamic world."

Citing the words of the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Ahmadinejad said: "Israel must be wiped off the map." READ MORE

Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres called for Iran to be expelled from the United Nations.

Israel's deputy ambassador to Britain, Zvi Rav-Ner, said it was "unheard-of" for a U.N. member state to call "for genocide and wiping off of another member state of the U.N."

"This is a clear contravention and breach of the U.N. charter and it should be dealt with by the international community," he told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he condemned the Iranian statement "absolutely." Asked whether he believed Iran should be expelled from the U.N., Barroso said: "I will not make any concrete proposal now."

"It is a completely unacceptable statement, of course," Barroso told BBC radio. "We should respect borders and respect the integrity of Israel, and we want Israel to live in peace with its neighbors."

Britain's Foreign Office called Ahmadinejad's comments "deeply disturbing and sickening," and said Iran's charge d'affaires would be summoned later Thursday. Spain also summoned the Iranian ambassador in Madrid to protest the comments, and French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy called for a meeting with Iran's envoy to Paris to "obtain some explanations."

Italy said the remarks confirmed concerns over Tehran's nuclear program.

The Italian Foreign Ministry said it had expressed "discomfort and concern to the Iranian ambassador in Rome."

"The contents and tone of such unacceptable statements confirm worries over the political positions pursued by the new Iranian leadership, especially concerning the nuclear dossier," the statement said.

Israel and the United States accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons and want the U.N. Security Council to consider sanctions against the Tehran government. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Ahmadinejad's remarks "serve to underscore our concern as well as the international community's concern about Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons."