Ahmadinejad says Israel will 'disappear'

Iran's President said yesterday Israel would soon disappear off the map and that the "satanic power" of the US faced destruction, in his latest verbal attack on the Islamic Republic's arch-enemies.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was speaking at a gathering of foreign guests marking this week's 19th anniversary of the death of Iran's late revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the official Irna news agency said.

"You should know that the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime which has 60 years of plundering, aggression and crimes in its file has reached the end of its work and will soon disappear off the geographical scene," he said.

Turning to the US, he said the era of decline and destruction of its "satanic power" had begun and added: "The bell on the countdown of the destruction of the empire of power and wealth has begun to ring."

In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino described Mr Ahmadinejad's comments as "that kind of rhetoric that just serves to further isolate the Iranian people".

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack condemned the Iranian President's latest comments on Israel: "Again, more hateful vitriol coming from President Ahmadinejad."

The US, which severed ties with Iran shortly after its 1979 Islamic revolution, is leading efforts to isolate Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme, which the West suspects is a front for developing atomic bombs.

Mr McCormack said the US government wanted Iran to take its rightful place in the international community.

"But sadly, that isn't going to happen as long as President Ahmadinejad and his government continues to lead this country down a very negative path," he told reporters in Washington.

The US says it wants a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear dispute but has not ruled out military action if that fails.

Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, says its nuclear programme is only aimed at generating electricity and insists it will not bow to Western pressure.

Opposition to Israel is a fundamental principle in Shi'ite Muslim Iran, which backs Palestinian militants opposed to peace with the Jewish state.

A 2005 statement by Mr Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, saying that Israel should be "wiped off the map" outraged the international community.

In April, a senior Iranian army commander said Iran would respond to any military attack from Israel by "eliminating" it.

Some analysts have speculated that Israel might attack Iran to stop its nuclear activities.

Iran, which does not recognise Israel, says it has developed ballistic missiles able to hit Israel and US bases in the region.