Netanyahu attacks ‘true face’ of Rowhani

National Post

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, condemned Iran’s incoming president as an extremist Friday after reports that Hassan Rowhani said Israel was an “old wound” that should be removed from the Middle East.

Iranian state television later denied that Mr. Rowhani, who was attending rallies to mark Iranian solidarity with Palestinians, had made such remarks, blaming a rogue news agency report for “distorting” his comments.

Mr. Rowhani raised hopes of a change in Iran’s outlook when he won the presidential election in June with calls for “moderation” and “hope.”

But the hardline language was seized on by the Israeli leader. Mr. Netanyahu called on the world to “wake up” to Mr. Rowhani and recognize that, while the president was changing, the state would not fundamentally change.

“The true face of Rowhani has been revealed earlier than expected,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “Even if the Iranians work to deny these comments, this is what the man thinks, and [it] reflects the regime’s plans.”

Mr. Rowhani, who will be inaugurated as the Iranian head of state tomorrow, was participating in the Islamic regime’s Jerusalem Day rallies, traditionally an occasion for Israel-bashing speeches.

According to a transcript of his remarks, Mr. Rowhani said: “There is an old wound on the body of the Islamic world, under the shadow of the occupation of the holy lands of Palestine and [Jerusalem]. This day is to remember that the Muslim population will not forget its historic right and will resist tyranny and occupation.”

But a report by the ISNA news agency, a radical organisation with close links to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the outgoing president, claimed that Mr. Rowhani had called for the demise of Israel.

“The Zionist regime has been a wound on the body of the Islamic world for years and the wound should be removed,” it said.

Mr. Rowhani has indicated that he will try to mend broken diplomatic relations when he takes office.

Meanwhile, state television showed hundreds of thousands of people marching across the country, chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.”