Iranian leader condemned for Holocaust remarks

Germany, Russia and Switzerland joined the European Union yesterday in a chorus of condemnation of the Iranian president for suggesting the Holocaust might not have taken place and that Israel should be moved to Europe.

The remarks by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a news conference in the Saudia Arabian city of Mecca on Thursday, follow his call in October for Israel to be "wiped off the map", which also sparked broad international criticism.

The German Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Iran's ambassador to protest, and ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger told a news conference this was being done to show how seriously Berlin was taking the comments.

"When one summons an ambassador, then you signal the start of something in diplomacy, that there are grounds for serious discussion," Mr Jaeger told reporters.

Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying of the Nazi Holocaust "Some European countries insist on saying that Hitler killed millions of innocent Jews in furnaces..."

"Although we don't accept this claim, if we suppose it is true, our question for the Europeans is: is the killing of innocent Jewish people by Hitler the reason for their support to the occupiers of Jerusalem?" he said.

"If the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces in Europe - like in Germany, Austria or other countries - to the Zionists and the Zionists can establish their state in Europe."

Britain, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency and has played a key role in European attempts to persuade Tehran to give up its nuclear ambitions, said such comments had "no place in civilised political debate".