Iran’s leader calls Israel a ‘fake’ nation, ‘dirty chapter’
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday used the podium of a pro-Palestinian gathering in Tehran to lash out at Israel, calling the Jewish state a “fake” nation in a “dirty chapter” of history.
The remarks by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were some of his most vitriolic against Israel, Iran’s archenemy. Every four years since the early 1990s, Tehran has hosted a similar conference in support of the Palestinian cause, assembling foreign guests and those who oppose Israel.
Speaking to the gathering, Khamenei said Israel was created by bringing Jews from other parts of the world to the Mideast region to settle in the land of the Palestinians to replace its “true entity.”
The creation of Israel is “one of the dirty chapters of history that will be closed, with the grace of God,” he added. Khamenei’s speech lasted 33 minutes.