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Israel's Peres says UN should expel Iran

Posted on: Thursday, 27 October 2005, 03:03 CDT

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.

Source: REUTERS

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