US Swats at Iran's Israel Comments

Agence France-Presse:

The White House said today that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's suggestion that Israel be moved to Europe underlined Washington's concerns about the government in Tehran. "It just further underscores our concerns about the regime in Iran. And it's all the more reason why it's so important that the regime not have the ability to develop nuclear weapons," said spokesman Scott McClellan. READ MORE

The hardline Iranian leader said earlier that if Germany and Austria feel responsible for massacring Jews during World War II, a state of Israel should be established on their soil.

US President George W. Bush was to meet Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel in the Oval Office today.

Mr Ahmadinejad, who sparked an international outcry in October when he said Israel "must be wiped off the map", also repeated his view that the Jewish state was a "tumour".

Mr Ahmadinejad's comments came in an interview with Iran's Arabic-language satellite channel, Al-Alam.

AFP obtained a transcript of his original Farsi-language comments.

Mr McClellan said he had not seen the comments, only news reports.