Shimon Peres

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres says Iran should be expelled from the United Nations, after its president called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

Mr. Peres said the statement from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad goes against the principles of the United Nations.

Mr. Ahmadinejad was speaking Wednesday in Tehran to thousands of students gathered at a conference titled "The World Without Zionism." He warned that any country or leader that acknowledges Israel will face the wrath of the Islamic community.

In Washington, a White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, said the remarks underscore the Bush administration's concerns about Iran's nuclear intentions.

Speaking on a trip to Moscow, Israel's foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, also expressed concern over Iran's nuclear program.

Several Western nations fear that Iran is secretly trying to build nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.