Iranian President raises stakes against Israel

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad raised the stakes against Israel yesterday and called the Holocaust a lie, just as world powers try to decide how to deal with the nuclear ambitions of an Iran in political turmoil.

"The pretext (Holocaust) for the creation of the Zionist regime (Israel) is false... It is a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim," he told worshippers at Tehran University at the end of an annual anti-Israel "Qods (Jerusalem) Day" rally.

"Confronting the Zionist regime is a national and religious duty."

Mr Ahmadinejad's anti-Western comments on the Holocaust have caused international outcry and isolated Iran, which is at loggerheads with the West over its nuclear programme. However, the hardline President warned leaders of Western-allied Arab and Muslim countries about dealing with Israel.

"This regime (Israel) will not last long. Do not tie your fate to it... This regime has no future. Its life has come to an end," he said in a speech broadcast live on state radio.

Britain was swift in condemning Mr Ahmadinejad's remarks, calling them "abhorrent as well as ignorant".

"It is very important that the world community stands up against this tide of abuse. This outburst is not worthy of the leader of Iran," Foreign Secretary David Miliband said.

Meanwhile yesterday, Iranian security forces clashed with supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi and arrested at least 10 of them during annual anti-Israel rallies in Tehran. Thousands of supporters of Mr Mousavi, wearing green wristbands or shawls, were among crowds marching in the "Qods Day" rallies.

The state newsagency Irna said Mr Mousavi and reformist cleric Mehdi Karoubi, both defeated candidates in June, had been forced to leave the rallies after being attacked by "angry people".

Reformist former President Mohammad Khatami took part in the rally, but was attacked by hardliners and had to leave after his robe was ripped and his turban fell to the ground, an ally of Mr Khatami who accompanied him said.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbollah which fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006, defended Mr Ahmadinejad and said he was criticised for supporting "the 'resistance', the people of the region and Palestine".

"Our belief and creed... remain that Israel is an illegal entity, a cancerous tumour, that must cease to exist," he said in a televised address.

Mr Ahmadinejad's fresh comments came ahead of his appearance at the UN General Assembly next week and before Tehran attends talks on October 1 with major powers worried about the Islamic Republic's nuclear strategy.