Iran΄s standpoint on holocaust

Source: Press TV, 15-02-2009

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says the Holocaust is "none of Iran's business" as the country prepares for direct negotiations with the US.
When asked about the Holocaust on Saturday, Larijani said, "As far as this issue is concerned, there are several standpoints but it is none of our business."

He added that it was "unfortunate" that the evaluation of the Holocaust had been made a taboo, the Etemad Melli daily reported Sunday.
This comes as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's fascination with the topic has cost the country dearly.
Since he took office in August 2005, he has publicly doubted the dimensions of the Holocaust, saying it should be open to debate and research.

"The West has given more significance to the myth of the genocide of the Jews, even more than God, religion, and the prophets," President Ahmadinejad said in 2005.
In a two-hour verbal contest at Columbia University in 2007, the president said even if the Holocaust had happened, Palestinians should not pay the price for it -- in a reference to the occupation of Palestinian lands by "Israel".

Later in a 2008 interview with CNN's Larry King, President Ahmadinejad said he did not deny the Holocaust. "What I am saying is let more research be done."
For such remarks and his continued criticism of "Israeli" crimes against Palestinians, President Ahmadinejad has been accused of anti-Semitism as well as having plans to destroy "Israel".

According to the Iranian president, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has not acknowledged "Israel" because "it is based on ethnic discrimination, occupation and usurpation and it consistently threatens its neighbors."
President Ahmadinejad, however, says Iran does not intend to invade "Israel".

In September 2008; however, the Iranian president told Larry King that as a result of its crimes, "Israel" would disappear in the same way as apartheid South Africa and the Soviet Union.
President Ahmadinejad's stance toward the Holocaust and "Israel" prompted the former Bush administration to adopt a harsh policy toward Tehran.

The new administration of President Barack Obama, however, has offered to review its policies should Iran "unclench" its fist.