Ahmadinejad on Israel: 30 jaw-dropping quotes

President Ahmadinejad of Iran may well become someone the West "can do business with", for pragmatic political reasons. However, it is hard to forget his rhetoric: he is not likely to be joining the Islam Is Peace project,  q.v...

1. "Israel must be wiped off the map … The establishment of a Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world . . . The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of the war of destiny.  The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land."
October 26, 2005
(In an address to 4,000 students at a program titled, 'The World Without Zionism')

NB The translation of this quote is debated and has also been read as "Israel must disappear from the page of history"

2. "The Zionist regime is an injustice and by its very nature a permanent threat. Whether you like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation.  The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm."
April 14, 2006
(In a speech at the opening of the "Support for the Palestinian Intifada" conference on April 14-16 hosted in Tehran)

3. "Today, they [Europeans] have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion and the prophets … This is our proposal: give a part of your own land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to them [Jews] so that the Jews can establish their country."
December 14, 2005
(Speaking to thousands of people in the Iranian city of Zahedan)

4. "The Zionist regime is the flag bearer of violation and occupation and this regime is the flag of Satan. …It is not unlikely that this regime be on the path to dissolution and deterioration when the philosophy behind its creation and survival is invalid."
August 18, 2007 
(Address to an international religious conference in Tehran)

5. "A new Middle East will prevail without the existence of Israel."
August 4, 2006
(as quoted by Malaysian news agency Bernama website)

6. "In parallel to the official political war there is a hidden war going on and the Islamic states should benefit from their economic potential to cut off the hands of the enemies."

7. "Some European countries insist on saying that Hitler killed millions of innocent Jews in furnaces.... Although we don't accept this claim, if we suppose it is true, our question for the Europeans is: Is the killing of innocent Jewish people by Hitler the reason for their support to the occupiers of Jerusalem?  If the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces in Europe -- like in Germany, Austria or other countries -- to the Zionists and the Zionists can establish their state in Europe."
December 8, 2005
(While speaking to journalists at an Islamic summit in Mecca)

8. "The Zionists are the true manifestation of Satan . . . Many Western governments that claim to be pioneers of democracy and standard bearers of human rights close their eyes over crimes committed by the Zionists and by remaining silent support the Zionists due to their hedonistic and materialistic tendencies."
February 28, 2007
(to a meeting of Sudanese Islamic scholars in Khartoum)

9. "Thanks to people's wishes and God's will the trend for the existence of the Zionist regime is downwards and this is what God has promised and what all nations want…Just as the Soviet Union was wiped out and today does not exist, so will the Zionist regime soon be wiped out"
December 12, 2006
(Comments to Iran's Holocaust Conference)

10. "Though the enemy had made preparations for not allowing Iran (president) to make his voice heard, but, they could not succeed and thanks to grace of God the world people heard our voice."
September 30, 2007

11. "Zionists are people without any religion.  They are lying about being Jewish because religion means brotherhood, friendship and respecting other divine religions…
They are an organized minority who have infiltrated the world. They are not even a 10,000-strong organization."
August 28, 2007
(At a news conference in Tehran)

12.  "With God's help, the countdown button for the destruction of the Zionist regime has been pushed by the hands of the children of Lebanon and Palestine . . . By God's will, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future."
June 3, 2007
(Speech, as quoted by the Fars News Agency)

13. "Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate cease-fire must be implemented."
August 2, 2006
(as quoted by Iranian TV)

14. "[N]o Muslim nation would put up with this entity [i.e. Israel] in Islamic lands, not for one moment … If it's true that the [Europeans] committed a big crime in World War II, then they must take responsibility for it themselves, and not ask the Palestinian people to pay the price … Those countries that support this regime [Israel] were terrified at the suggestion that [Israel] should be relocated to their neighborhood. So why should the Palestinians and the countries in our region accept this entity?"
(In a speech before an audience in the Iranian city of Qom, aired on television)

15. "They [the United States] think they are the absolute rulers of the world."
October 29, 2005
(Marching in a demonstration alongside a crowd of students in Tehran)

16. "It is not just for a few states to sit and veto global approvals. Should such a privilege continue to exist, the Muslim world with a population of nearly 1.5 billion should be extended the same privilege."
June 19, 2005
(In an interview with state television shortly before his election)

17. "Iran's enemies know your courage, faith and commitment to Islam and the land of Iran has created a powerful army that can powerfully defend the political borders and the integrity of the Iranian nation and cut off the hand of any aggressor and place the sign of disgrace on their forehead."

18. "Soon Islam will become the dominating force in the world, occupying first place in the number of followers amongst all other religions."

19."What is important is that they have shown the way to martyrdom which we must follow.''
[President Ahmadinejad's comments on an aircraft crash in Tehran that killed 108 people in December 2005].

20. "Is there a craft more beautiful, more sublime, more divine, than the craft of giving yourself to martyrdom and becoming holy? Do not doubt, Allah will prevail, and Islam will conquer mountain tops of the entire world."

21. "Our revolution's main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi."

22. "The wave of the Islamist revolution will soon reach the entire world."

23. "We don't shy away from declaring that Islam is ready to rule the world."
January 21 2006

24. "Our enemies should know that they are unable to even slightly hurt our nation and they cannot create the tiniest obstacle on its glorious and progressive way."
April 28 2006

25. "By the grace of Allah, we (will be) a nuclear power."

26. "If you have burned the Jews, why don't you give a piece of Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to Israel. Our question is, if you have committed this huge crime, why should the innocent nation of Palestine pay for this crime?"
April 19, 2006

27. "The UN structure is one-sided, stacked against the world of Islam."
June 8, 2005
(In an interview on state television)

28. "Are they human beings?... They (Zionists) are a group of blood-thirsty savages putting all other criminals to shame."
(as quoted by Iranian TV)

29. "The Zionists and their protectors are the most detested people in all of humanity, and the hatred is increasing every day."
July 13, 2006
(as quoted by Iranian state television)

30. ''We say that this fake regime (Israel) cannot logically continue to live. Open the doors (of Europe) and let the Jews go back to their own countries."
April 24, 2006
(In a news conference held on April 24, 2006)