Ahmadinejad in UN: "Uncivilized Zionists" are Threatening Us
U.S. spokeswoman: Ahmadinejad "spouting paranoid theories and repulsive slurs against Israel."
ArutzSheva 7 News online First Publish: 9/26/2012, 8:16 PM
Ahmadinejad at UN
Reuters
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday accused
the West of nuclear "intimidation" in his final speech to the UN General
Assembly which was boycotted by the United States and Isr.ael
But the Iranian president generally steered clear of the
more toxic remarks about Israel which have sparked mass walkouts at his
previous seven appearances before the UN summit
.
"Arms race and intimidation by
nuclear weapons and weapons of mass-destruction by the hegemonic powers
have become prevalent," Ahmadinejad said in a rare outburst in the
rambling 35 minute speech
.
"Continued threat by the uncivilized Zionists to resort to military action against our great nation is a clear example of this bitter reality," he added in his only reference to Israel.
The Iranian government faces mounting international
pressure over its nuclear drive, which western powers say hides a bid to
develop a nuclear bomb.
Iran denies the charge but there has been mounting speculation that Israel could launch a military strike against Iran's bunkered nuclear facilities.
President Barack Obama told the UN assembly on Tuesday that
the United States will "do what we must" to prevent Iran from getting a
nuclear weapon.
Foreign ministers from the United States, Russia, China,
Britain, France and Germany will meet in New York on Thursday to discuss
the increasingly tense nuclear showdown.
Ahmadinejad's last stay in New York as president has been
marked by new condemnation of Israel which he refused to mention by
name, calling them the "Zionists" or a "fake regime".
The United States boycotted the UN speech because of his attacks.
"Over the past couple of days, we've seen Mr. Ahmadinejad once again
use his trip to the UN not to address the legitimate aspirations of the
Iranian people but to instead spout paranoid theories and repulsive
slurs against Israel," said Erin Pelton, spokeswoman of the US mission
to the United Nations.
Israeli diplomats also stayed away, partly because Jews were marking Yom Kippur, the holiest Jewish day of the year.
Outside the UN headquarters, demonstrators protesting at
Ahmadinejad's presence set up a hangman's gallows to symbolize Iran's
widespread use of executions.
Diplomats from Britain, France and Germany sat through
Ahmadinejad's address, but found nothing in his lecture-like theological
comments to justify a repeat of the walkouts of previous years
In past speeches, Ahmadinejad has said the US government
may have had a role in the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and
called for the eradication of Israel .
This time he gave a long lecture about the need for a fairer world and lashed out at the Western nations for the global economic crisis .
"The current abysmal situation of
the world and the bitter incidents of history are due mainly to the
wrong management of the world, and the self-proclaimed centers of power
who have entrusted themselves to the devil," he said.
"Creation of worthless paper assets by using influence and control over the world's economic centers constitutes the greatest abuse of history, and is considered a major contributor to global economic crisis," he said.
Much of the speech was devoted to religion.
Ahmadinejad hailed the imminent arrival of an "ultimate
savior", Imam Al-Mahdi, "a man who will come in the company of Jesus
Christ and the righteous".
As a Shiite Muslim, Ahmadinejad reveres Islam's twelfth
imam, Muhammad Al-Mahdi, who disappeared from the earth in the tenth
century and is said to be due to return, accompanied by Jesus, to save
mankind.
The date of his return is not known, but Ahmadinejad
indicated that he felt the arrival was imminent, telling delegates: "Now
we can sense the sweet scent and the soulful breeze of the spring, a
spring that has just begun".
Ahmadinejad's speech was applauded and he acknowledged the acclaim with a wave before leaving the UN stage for the last time.
Labels: Iran, Islamism, United Nations
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