Ahmadinejad: Israel has lost its 'raison d'etre'
During Tehran conference in support of Palestinians Iranian president says 'Zionist regime's' presence in region causes threat, crisis and war. Khamenei: US behind IAEA charge that Iran making bomb
Israel has lost its "raison d'etre" and its presence in the region causes instability, Iranian media quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying Sunday at a conference attended by top Palestinian militant leaders.
"With God's grace and thanks to the Palestinian resistance the occupying Zionist regime has lost its raison d'être," Ahmadinejad said at a Tehran conference in support of the Palestinians.
"Their presence (Israel's) even in one inch of the region's soil causes threat, crisis and war," the state-run television's website quoted him as saying.
"The only way to confront them (Israelis) is through the Palestinian youths' resistance, and that of the regional nations," he added.
Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal, Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Abdullah Shallah and the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command, Ahmed Jibril, all of whom live in exile, were at the conference, Iranian media said.
Iran does not recognize Israel and is a staunch backer of Palestinian militant groups.
Tensions have soared between Iran and Israel since Ahmadinejad, a hardliner, came to power in 2005.
Ahmadinejad has drawn international condemnation by predicting that Israel is doomed to disappear and dismissing the Holocaust as a "myth," while Israel has refused to rule out military action to prevent Iran from possibly developing a nuclear bomb.
Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader charged Sunday that US and its allies are behind the UN nuclear watchdog agency's claim that Iran may be making nuclear bombs, despite its repeated denials.
The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, broadcast on state television Sunday, came 10 days after the International Atomic Energy Agency said it was concerned Iran may be working on nuclear weapons, echoing conclusions reached by the US and several of its allies.
"Some IAEA reports and actions show that this international agency lacks independence," the television quoted Khamenei as saying. "The IAEA should not be influenced by the US and some (other) countries because unilateral acts erode trust in the agency and the United Nations. It is also very bad for the prestige and reputation of these international bodies."
The language of the report - the first written by Yukiya Amano, who became IAEA head in December - appeared to be more directly critical of Iran's refusal to cooperate with the IAEA than most of those of his predecessor, Mohamed ElBaradei.
