Iran leader’s speech was “vile and hateful”: U.S.

Reuters: The speech of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a U.N. racism conference in Geneva, in which he called Israel a racist state, was "vile and hateful," Washington's deputy U.N. envoy said on Monday.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The speech of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a U.N. racism conference in Geneva, in which he called Israel a racist state, was "vile and hateful," Washington's deputy U.N. envoy said on Monday.

Ahmadinejad prompted a walkout of a number of delegations during his speech, when he accused Israel of establishing a "cruel and repressive racist regime" over Palestinians.

"I can't think of any other word than shameful," U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff said, adding that it was a "vile and hateful speech."

"It does a grave injustice to the Iranian nation and the Iranian people, and we call on the Iranian leadership to show much more measured, moderate, honest and constructive rhetoric when dealing with issues in the region," he said.

The Geneva summit had already been badly undermined by a boycott by the United States and some of its major allies over concerns that it would be used as a platform for attacks against Israel.

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Stacey Joyce)