US: We won't compare Israel to Iran
In first American response to Prime Minister Olmert's indirect admission that Israel possesses nuclear weapons, State Department spokesman says there is no change in Israel's policy. Gulf states: Impose sanctions on Israel
There is no change in Israel's policy, he said. This is what they stated and I have no plans to compare between Iran's conduct and any other country, because honestly, the Iranian conduct, the conduct of this regime, is far from any other regime we know on the face of the earth, McCormack added.
He went on to say that from everything the United States had heard about Prime Minister Olmert's remark, the Israeli government says there is no change in its policy, which is not to confirm or deny the possession of nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Abed al-Rahman al-Atiyah also responded to the Israeli slip of the tongue, calling on the international community to impose sanctions on Israel.
Al-Atiyah called on the US not to adopt a policy of discrimination and to work to apply international decisions and laws on Israel.
He added that Olmert's remarks on Israel's nuclear abilities "mean destruction to the region and to all of humanity."
'Ahmadinejad's comments absolutely outrageous'
State Department Spokesman McCormack also addressed the Holocaust denial conference, in which the Iranian president reiterated his desire to wipe Israel off the map.
"It's just absolutely outrageous. You know, you get to a point where it's hard to find the words to describe the statements that are emanating from the Iranian president, continuing about this commentary about his desire to wipe Israel off the face of the map," he said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during the conference that "Israel is about to crash. This is God's promise and the wish of all the world's nations."
He added that "everyone must know that just as the USSR disappeared, this will also be the fate of the Zionist regime, and humanity will be free."
