Ahmadinejad: Wipe out Zionism not Jews

Iranian President claimed today that he never called for an extermination of Jews, but only asked proponents of Zionism to stop supporting the regime that occupies Palestine, and accused the Western media misreporting his speeches to help "bullying tyrants" make a case for attacking the Islamic nation [Ahmadinejad].

"The Zionist regime is the cause of mischief and all nations hate it and its supporters," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said 12 July 2006 [Ahmadinejad]. "I propose that those supporting this regime choose one of the following two options to put an end to the current situation: As they have created this regime through seditious acts, they must get rid of it the same way. The second option is to pave the way for election of a popular government through holding referendum or free elections among the Palestinian nation."

(Iran does not officially recognise the state of Israel, and therefore calls the Jewish state by its name.)