Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for Israel's destruction at a conference this week in Tehran entitled, "The World without Zionism."
"Israel must be wiped off the map," he said, adding that "the establishment of the Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world." He declared that, "the Islamic Umma (Nation) will not allow its historic enemy to live in its heartland."
Ahmedinejehad's remarks were immediately condemned by a number of countries, including France, Britain, the European Community, the United States, Germany, Australia, and Russia.