Israeli official slams Swiss-Iranian meeting

AP: Israel's deputy foreign minister says a planned meeting between Switzerland's president and his Iranian counterpart is "pathetic."

The Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's deputy foreign minister says a planned meeting between Switzerland's president and his Iranian counterpart is "pathetic."

Hans-Rudolf Merz is to meet Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday ahead of a U.N. conference on racism in Geneva.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon says the meeting "caught us by surprise." He told Army Radio that Merz's meeting "hurts him and Switzerland more than anything else."

Ahmadinejad has suggested the Holocaust never happened and called for Israel to be "wiped off the map." Israel sees Iran's nuclear program as an existential threat. Iran says the program is meant to produce electricity.

Swiss government officials had no immediate comment.

The U.S. and Israel are boycotting the racism conference.