Iran's Foreign Minister condemns Holocaust

After much confusion in the media over a tweet allegedly sent out by Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani, wishing Jews worldwide a "Happy Rosh Hashana", Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif confirmed in an interview, that he has indeed sent the same message from his official Twitter account.

The interview published on his Facebook page prompted a response from Christine Pelosi.

bbc.co.uk

He then had a response from Christine Pelosi, the daughter of Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the US House of Representatives, who said: "Thanks. The new year would be even sweeter if you would end Iran's Holocaust denial, sir".

He replied: "Iran never denied it. The man who was perceived to be denying it is now gone. Happy New Year."

He was referring to Mr Ahmadinejad who, during his presidency, frequently claimed the Holocaust was a lie.

"We have condemned the killing of Jews by Nazis as we condemn [the] killing and crackdown on Palestinians by Zionists," Mr Zarif told Tasnim.

The surprise victory of Rouhani last June and the recent change in rhetoric from Teheran could signal a shift to a more moderate foreign policy approach, but those who believe that Iran can not be trusted remain unconvinced. However, with the perceived 'anti-semite in chief' Ahmadinejad now gone and Rouhani's announcement that the foreign ministry would take over nuclear negotiations with the West, it becomes increasingly harder to paint Iran as the evil empire hell bent on the destruction of all Jews.

The Mullahs and the religious extremists in Teheran certainly don't need a reason to accuse Israel and the United States of being 'the Great Satan'. But then again, AIPAC's lobbying efforts, as recently as last March, to get U.S. senators to sign a resolution which calls for the U.S. to pledge military support for a potential Israeli attack on Iran - signed by nearly half of the Senate - would be enough reason to do so.

Back Door to War

As of this writing, nearly half of the Senate has signed on to what is nicknamed the "Back Door to War" resolution, which calls for the U.S. to pledge military support for a potential Israeli attack on Iran -- a commitment that would drag the United States into another war in the Middle East.

This bipartisan resolution (S. Res. 65) introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (SC) and Robert Menendez (NJ) signals a green light for a U.S.-Israeli war that former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned could "prove catastrophic, haunting us for generations in that part of the world."

And then there's Syria ....

reply to post by talklikeapirat

The surprise victory of Rouhani last June and the recent change in rhetoric from Teheran could signal a shift to a more moderate foreign policy approach, but those who believe that Iran can not be trusted remain unconvinced.

You're right. Most won't be convinced until Khamenei is gone because he's the one who holds all of the power and the President is just a figure head in Iran. In the meanwhile, Khamenei knows he needs someone like Rouhani to walk back all of the previous rhetoric that came from Ahmadinejad, but that's not going to change Khamenei's personal views. Khamenei is really good at hiding his true intentions. Luckily, he's getting old.

Here's a typical day in the life of Iran's government...

A tale of two Irans: Khamenei, Rouhani take different stances on Syria

globalnews.ca...

You might find this comment interesting as well...

This week, Rouhani reportedly wished a “Happy Rosh Hashana” to the Jews of Iran and the world on an English-language Twitter account.

But, much like Rafsanjani’s reported chemical weapons comment, an official denied it was Rouhani who tweeted the well wishes, rather his followers.

Foreign Minister Zarif had a Rosh Hashana tweet of his own, which he admitted came from him directly.

reply to post by Deetermined

Khamenei is really good at hiding his true intentions.

On the contrary. Khamenei is a hardliner, much like his counterpart Netanjahu. He never really made his true intentions a secret, much less about what he truly believes. He and the rest of Mullahs are more concerned with losing their credibility, if they would change their attitudes towards Israel and the West.

Khamenei says ...

Khamenei, in a televised speech marking the Iranian new year, said: "At times the officials of the Zionist regime (Israel) threaten to launch a military invasion but they themselves know that if they make the slightest mistake the Islamic Republic will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground."

He responded coolly to recent U.S. suggestions of direct talks between the two countries, which have had no diplomatic relations since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution and the ensuing hostage crisis involving American diplomats in Tehran.

"I am not optimistic about these talks. Why? Because our past experiences show that talks for the American officials do not mean for us to sit down and reach a logical solution ... What they mean by talks is that we sit down and talk until Iran accepts their viewpoint," the top Shi'ite Muslim cleric said.

Talks about Iran's nuclear program are scheduled to resume later this month, if the World isn't going down in flames before then, lets see what happens.

reply to post by talklikeapirat

"I am not optimistic about these talks. Why? Because our past experiences show that talks for the American officials do not mean for us to sit down and reach a logical solution ... What they mean by talks is that we sit down and talk until Iran accepts their viewpoint," the top Shi'ite Muslim cleric said.

This is the kind of talk that I'm referring to when I say that Khamenei has a way of hiding his true intentions.

Khamenei doesn't even believe in talks, never has and never will. It doesn't have anything to do with "past experiences". It has everything to do with his beliefs on "resistance" and what he directs the Quds Force to do when he thinks that no one is paying attention. When the Quds Force commits atrocities, Khamenei always blames it on a "rogue" group within the force. They may have a rogue element, but those are the ones who take direct orders from Khamenei.

Here's an article from August 10th...

Khamenei claimed that in more than 60 years “of the occupation of Palestine”, the peace talks have not had the least benefit for the “oppressed Palestinians”. He stressed that any benefit gained throughout the years has been the result of resistance and Intifada.

www.israelnationalnews.com...-qzk

This particular source may be israeli, but if you do some searching of what Khamenei has to say during Friday prayers in Iran from the Fars News Agency, it's all the same.

reply to post by Deetermined


Deetermined, i know what your opinion is on the matter, you've made it clear time and time again. Point is, we know what Khamenei's thinking, you yourself posted quotes. We know what Netanjahu wants, Obama not so much, although he's getting there.

It seems they all want to have their war to sort things out once and for all, just to see who's coming out on top.

My opinion is, may cooler heads prevail and the moderates on all sides can make a difference. So far i was right, no nukes went 'boom' in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Teheran is still standing.

We'll see in a couple weeks if this is it. You and i know, if the U.S. is going to strike it will be anything but 'limited'.

So i repeat: May cooler heads prevail.

Careful.

Obama isn't the only politician in the world that lies.

The psychotic narcissist psychopathic disease has no borders.

And why on Earth would Nancy Pelosi's daughter be following the President of Iran on a social site ?

How do we even know if both of those posts were really from either of them ?

reply to post by xuenchen


You're the 'pics or it didn't happened type', that's new. Here you go. Now you can start a in-depth investigation if these are really their Twitter accounts.

Obama isn't the only politician in the world that lies.

No one has said that, not even indicated. If this it what it takes to get you to defend Obama, i'll try that again sometimes.

the tweets ...