Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during Sunday’s farewell ceremony that one of his biggest accomplishments while president was advancing the perception that the Holocaust never happened.
“That was a taboo topic that no one in the West allowed to be heard,” he said, The Times of Israel reported. “We put it forward at the global level. That broke the spine of the Western capitalistic regime.”
Mr. Ahmadinejad’s remarks were on the Iranian Fars news agency in Arabic, but they were omitted from the site’s English version, The Times of Israel reported.
In another part of his speech, Mr. Ahmadinejad said the Arab region should ban together and take revenge on Israel for its leaders’ treatment of Palestinians.
“We have two missions: One is developing Iran, and the other one is reforming the world,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said, The Times of Israel reported. “Some imagine that these two are separate issues and that we should just deal with Iran and forget the world, but we believe that these two are interrelated and binding issues.”
Incoming President-Elect Hassan Rouhani wasn’t impressed with Mr. Ahmadinejad’s remarks, calling it “hate rhetoric,” and saying such rhetoric had nearly brought Iran to the brink of war, The Times of Israel reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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