Israel’s Peres says UN should expel Iran

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s Vice Prime Minister Shimon
Peres said Iran should be expelled from the United Nations
after its president called for the Jewish state to be “wiped
off the map.”

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s comments at a conference
called the “The World without Zionism,” reported by the
official Iranian news agency, drew condemnation from Western
countries.

“I don’t see such a crazy declaration being done by a head
of state, a member of the United Nations, it is unbearable. He
cannot remain a member,” Peres told a news conference.

Responding to a question, Peres said he might seek an
official Israeli mandate to request Iran’s expulsion from the
United Nations. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that was not
Israel’s official position.

The Islamic Republic has refused to recognize Israel’s
right to exist and supports Palestinian militant groups such as
the Islamic Jihad faction behind a suicide bombing that killed
five Israelis on Wednesday.

The United States, Canada and three European countries
condemned Ahmadinejad’s comment. White House Spokesman Scott
McClellan said “it underscores the concerns we have about
Iran’s nuclear intentions.”

Peres said Israel would pursue its campaign against Iran’s
nuclear program, which Tehran says is intended only for
peaceful purposes but which Israel fears could be used to build
an atomic bomb. Israel is believed to be the only Middle
Eastern country to have a nuclear arsenal.