[IslamCity] Iran 'clarifies' remarks on Israel(http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F497A302-79E2-46D7-9416-DBC764F69F9B.htm)

[S A Hannan]

Iran 'clarifies' remarks on Israel Tuesday 21 February 2006, 1:51 Makka Time, 22:51 GMT   Mottaki: Ahmadinejad remarks referred to Israeli regime    T Comments attributed to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,  the Iranian President, saying he wanted to see Israel "wiped off the map" were taken out of context, according to his foreign minister. Manouchehr Mottaki, the Foreign Minister, told reporters in Brussels on Monday: "Nobody can remove a country from the map. This is a misunderstanding in Europe of what our president mentioned." Speaking in English, after addressing the European Parliament, Mottaki said that comments from Ahmadinejad made in October referred to the current Israeli regime which Tehran does not "recognise legally". Ahmadinejad caused a storm of condemnation after Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted him as telling a conference: "Israel must be wiped off the map". Mottaki's comments came as he sought to assure the EU that Tehran had no ambitions to make nuclear weapons, despite widespread mistrust in Europe and the US of the reasons behind Iran's nuclear programme. No myth Iran says it is for energy production only. Mottaki also acknowledged the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed by Nazi Germany, despite Ahmadinejad saying in December that it was a myth. "We believe that those people who make efforts to free their countries should not be regarded as terrorists" Manouchehr Mottaki, Iranian Foreign Minister He told the parliament's foreign affairs committee, speaking through an interpreter: "Our friends in Europe stress that such a crime has taken place and they have stated certain figures that were actually suffered. We have no argument about that, but what we are saying here is to put right such a horrific event, why should the Muslims pay a price?" The political leader of the resistance group Hamas, which won Palestinian legislative elections last month, was in Tehran on Monday for talks with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mottaki said it was natural such talks should take place, while making clear he rejected the West's labelling of Hamas, which is committed to Israel's destruction, as a terrorist group. "We believe that those people who make efforts to free their countries should not be regarded as terrorists," he said. He declined to speculate on how ties between a Hamas-led Palestinian government and Tehran would develop. Reuters *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". SPONSORED LINKS Holy quran YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS  Visit your group "islamcity" on the web.    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.