14 February 2007
Iran's hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said in a television interview that Palestinians should be allowed to determine a resolution to their conflict with Israel. Ahmadinejad's comments were the latest in which he has sought to show a relatively more moderate face toward the West, including over Iran's controversial nuclear program. In the interview with ABC's "Good Morning America", Ahmadinejad was asked if he stuck by his past calls for Israel to be "wiped off the face of the map." The Iranian president stopped short of addressing whether Iran would recognize Israel but said any decision the Palestinians make should be respected. "We say that based on the charter of the UN, we say that based on the current international regulations, let the Palestinians decide," Ahmadinejad said, according to ABC's translation of his comments made in Farsi. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said he thought Ahmadinejad was being "disingenuous."
"Iran gives support to the most extremist and anti-peace of Palestinian groups; Islamic Jihad, Hamas and others, and has made every attempt to destabilize the situation and encourage violence," Regev said. Ahmadinejad has taken a less confrontational tone in recent days at a time when the United States has sharply stepped up its pressure on Iran, increasing its military presence in the Gulf and accusing Iran of providing sophisticated explosives to militants in Iraq. The Iranian leader also has come under pressure at home as reformists and fellow conservatives have criticized his diplomacy, saying he was spending too much time on slamming the West and not enough on domestic problems, including Iran's economy.
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