Iran's hard-line president has called for the destruction of Israel and warned Muslim nations who recognize the Jewish state that they will be forever disgraced.
Speaking at a Tehran conference entitled "The World Without Zionism" Wednesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told thousands of students that countries or leaders who acknowledge Israel will be confronted with the wrath of the Islamic community.
Intoning the words of the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, he said, "Israel must be wiped off the map."
He also called Israel's recent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip "a trick," meant to make Islamic states acknowledge Israel.
There was no immediate reaction to his comments from Jerusalem, but in Paris, a French foreign ministry spokesman strongly condemned the remarks.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.