Iran's president condemns holocaust
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 25 September 2013 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Iran's president condemns holocaust, 25 September 2013, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/5261039812.html [accessed 25 January 2017] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
September 25, 2013
Then-President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (left), who consistently cast doubt on whether the Holocaust ever took place, greets President-elect Hassan Rohani in Tehran in mid-June.
New Iranian President Hassan Rohani has condemned the Holocaust as a "reprehensible" crime committed by the Nazis against Jews.
In a CNN interview on September 24, during his visit to the United Nations in New York, Rohani said: "Whatever criminality they committed against the Jews, we condemn."
He added that taking human life is contemptible and said "it makes no difference whether that life is Christian, Jewish, or Muslim."
Rohani said, however, that the Holocaust did not entitle Jews to establish the state of Israel after World War II.
He also said that determining the scale of the Holocaust is a question for historians.
Historians generally agree that 6 million people – the vast majority of them Jews – died in the Holocaust.
Rohani's predecessor, former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, was widely condemned for expressing doubt that the Holocaust had occurred.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
