On the day the world remembered the victims of the Holocaust, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei released a video in which he again questioned the Nazi genocide of six million Jews. At the same time, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani continued his European tour.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei released a video in which he accused the United States of America of helping "the fake Zionist regime" [Israel] and claimed America was lying when it said it was opposed to terrorism and ISIS, according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
Of the Holocaust, Khamenei remarked: “It is not clear whether the core of this matter is a reality or not. Even if it is a reality, it is not clear how it happened...This is the ignorance that exists in today’s world. We should be awake.
"[Muslims] should know that we can stand up against the ignorance.
"Who assists the fake Zionist regime," Khamenei asks in the video. "Who supports them, who clears the road for them, who stands behind them?" And then answered: "It is Western powers headed by America that are doing so. This is while they say in their slogans that they are opposed to terrorism and ISIS.
Khamenei then begins to cast aspersions on the veracity of the Holocaust, saying: "No one in European countries dares to speak about the Holocaust (Auschwitz).
"While it is not clear whether the core of this matter is a reality or not, even if it is a reality, it is not clear how it happened," the supreme leader is heard saying. He added: "Speaking about the Holocaust and expressing doubts about it is considered to be a great sin.
"If someone does this they stop, arrest, imprison, and sue him.
"This is while they claim to be supporters of freedom. This is the ignorance that exists in today's world. We should be awake. [Muslims] should know that we can stand up against the ignorance," said Khamenei in his video.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was in Paris for talks with French political leaders and to court new business following the lifting of international sanctions last week. "We don't see any obstacles for companies that would want to come and invest in Iran," Rouhani told a delegation of French business leaders. "Iran is ready for investments."
