The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), which released in February a long list of statements by Iranian and other Muslim leaders calling for the destruction of Israel, has pointed to further statements, including one in the past week, by senior Iranian officials indicating their clear intention to destroy Israel.
This week, on May 20, the Iranian Chief of Staff, Major-General Hassan Firouzabadi, said that “the Iranian nation is standing for its cause, which is the full annihilation of Israel” (Herb Keinon, ‘PM: Iran must halt uranium enrichment, stockpiling,’ Jerusalem Post, May 21, 2012).
Also, on February 24, the Iranian Deputy Defense Minister, Ahmad Vahidi, addressing a Hizballah ceremony in Lebanon, said in relation to the prospects of Israeli forces striking Iranian nuclear facilities that, “Any act by the Zionist regime against Iran will bring about its destruction … Israel is weaker than it has ever been and its army is tired and humiliated… This is why it is trying to solve its problems by talking about taking action against Iran. But these are ridiculous statements. Iran’s warriors are ready and willing to wipe Israel off the map” (Dudi Cohen, ‘“Iran ready to wipe Israel off the map,”’ Yediot Ahronot, February 24, 2012).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein stated, “We heard such blatantly murderous statements in the 1930s and no-one heeded them. We dare not repeat this tragic error. We urge the Obama Administration, Congress and Jewish and American Muslim leaders to condemn these statements which, as the list we provide below demonstrates, are not exceptional but, on the contrary, represent the long-expressed, frequently repeated intentions of Iranian leaders. We also call upon Muslim leaders to condemn these vile statements. These statements have been made, over and over, for decades. Why aren’t Muslims leaders speaking out?
“More importantly still, the world cannot any longer accept Iran continuing a nuclear program that is not verifiably limited to peaceful, domestic purposes but, on the contrary, involves the creation of weapons grade plutonium and the missiles to deliver it. World leaders, including President Obama, must set a firm deadline for Iran ending its nuclear program, failing which serious consequences, including military ones, will follow. We dare not allow a regime that trumpets its genocidal intentions to acquire the world’s deadliest weapons.”
Some previous statements by Iranian leaders and proxies on destroying Israel:
Calling Israel a danger to Islam, the conservative website Alef, with ties to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the opportunity must not be lost to remove “this corrupting material. It is a ‘jurisprudential justification’ to kill all the Jews and annihilate Israel, and in that, the Islamic government of Iran must take the helm.”
“My dear ones, you are victorious and your enemies are defeated. You will stay and your enemies, who are the enemies of humanity, are on the slippery slope to destruction. You are honorable and respected and your Zionist enemies are shamed, wretched and pitiful.”
“If we are subjected to any attack by Israel I do not think we will need more than 11 days to wipe Israel out of existence.”
“(Israel) has reached the end of its function and will soon disappear off the geographical domain.”
“Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken… Today the reason for the Zionist regime’s existence is questioned and this regime is on its way to annihilation…has reached the end like a dead rat after being slapped by the Lebanese.”
“The time has come to see the weakness and collapse of the Zionist regime and its supporters. They are doing everything in order to save it, but they will not succeed.”
March, 2008: “Gaza is the beginning, the real issue is elsewhere. They should know that both in the prelude and in the real thing they face a defeat and this time they will be uprooted.”
“Now we are left with one question: Will Israel cease to exist one day? … Yes … Israel will cease to exist.”
“World powers have created a black and dirty microbe named the Zionist regime and have unleashed it like a savage animal on the nations of the region.”
“I advise you to abandon the filthy Zionist entity which has reached the end of the line… It has lost its reason to be and will sooner or later fall. The ones who still support the criminal Zionists should know that the occupiers’ days are numbered.”
“It is impossible that the Zionist regime will survive. Collapse is in the nature of this regime because it has been created on aggression, lying, oppression and crime…”
“Our support (for the Palestinian people) is unconditional. As for the Israelis, let them go find somewhere else.”
“The Zionist regime is the standard bearer of invasion, occupation and Satan …When the philosophy behind the establishment of a regime is in question, it is not unlikely that it will find itself on a course of decline and dissolution.”
”In Lebanon, the corrupt, arrogant powers and the Zionist regime did all they could in an unfair 33-day war. But after 60 years [Israel’s] greatness fell apart … The countdown to this regime’s destruction started through the hands of Hezbollah’s children …We will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future thanks to the endeavours of all Palestinian and Lebanese fighters.”
“God willing, in the near future we will witness the destruction of the corrupt occupier regime…”
“I want to tell [Western counties] that just as the Soviet Union was wiped out and does not exist anymore, so will the Zionist regime soon be wiped out and humanity will be free.”
“The Zionist regime is on the slope of disappearance and the freedom movement and the struggles of the Palestinian people have more success every day…It is the religious duty of all Muslims to stand by the Palestines [sic] …The continued crimes of the Zionist regime will only accelerate the downfall of this fake regime.”
“The great powers created the Zionist regime to extend their domination in the region. Every day this regime is massacring Palestinians…As this regime goes against the path of life, we will soon see its disappearance and its destruction.”
“This regime (Israel) will be gone, definitely…”You (the Western powers) should know that any government that stands by the Zionist regime from now on will not see any result but the hatred of the people…The wrath of the region’s people is boiling… You should not complain that we did not give a warning. We are saying this explicitly now…”
“At a “special session” of the OIC in August of the same year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for “the elimination of the Zionist regime,” a statement that OIC failed to condemn.”
“Our position on the Middle East is clear. We want the root of tensions to be removed. During these sixty years what was the root of massacres, crimes and conflicts? … The solution is clear and nothing has changed.”
“Nations in the region will be more furious every day. It won’t take long before the wrath of the people turns into a terrible explosion that will wipe the Zionist entity off the map…The basic problem in the Islamic world is the existence of the Zionist regime, and the Islamic world and the region must mobilize to remove this problem. It is a usurper that our enemies made and imposed on the Muslim world, a regime that prevented the progress of the region’s nations, a regime that all Muslims must join hands in isolating worldwide.”
“Our dear Imam said that the occupying regime must be wiped off the map and this was a very wise statement. We cannot compromise over the issue of Palestine… I have no doubt that the new wave that has started in Palestine, and we witness it in the Islamic world too, will eliminate this disgraceful stain from the Islamic world. But we must be aware of tricks.”
“If a day comes when the world of Islam is duly equipped with the arms Israel has in possession … the strategy of colonialism would face a stalemate because application of an atomic bomb would not leave anything in Israel.”
“It is an open war until the elimination of Israel and until the death of the last Jew on earth.”