We declare explicitly that we will not be satisfied with anything less than the complete obliteration of the Zionist regime from the political map of the world, Hassan Shariatmadari, a close confidant of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote in an editorial in Sundays edition of Kayhan.
The honourable President has said nothing new about Israel that would justify all this political commotion, the influential figure, who is a former general of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, added.
Imam [Ruhollah”> Khomeini repeatedly said that Israel must be wiped off the map and this has been reiterated by all the top leaders of the Islamic Republic as a strategic goal and policy and all countries and international organisations are aware of the views of the Islamic Republic of Iran vis-à-vis the Zionist regime, he wrote.
Shariatmadari, whose editorials often reflect the thinking of Ayatollah Khamenei, listed a number of reasons for what he called the recent hoopla by the U.S., Europe, some other countries, and international bodies.
Shariatmadari said the West was trying to portray Iran as a warlike government to be able to blackmail Tehran over its nuclear program.
Almost all the U.S. and European officials who spoke against the recent statements by Dr. Ahmadinejad expressed concern at our countrys efforts to obtain nuclear weapons Shariatmadari wrote. They summoned our ambassadors and told them that the Presidents speech was intended to justify Irans acquisition of nuclear weapons.
The second reason why the West was creating a commotion over Ahmadinejads speech, according to Shariatmadari, was that the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has turned many of the dreams of the U.S. and the European Union against Islamic Iran into a nightmare.
They blew the trumpet of deceit, claiming that the new Iranian President will arouse the wrath of the international community and will bring unrest and tensions to Iran.
Shariatmadari said the U.S. and its allies were also seeking to encourage some officials within the Islamic government to oppose the new governments insistence to return to the values of the Islamic Revolution.
With their recent hoopla and threats, the U.S. and its allies are trying to instil the illusion that if we cling to the views and policies of Imam Khomeini, we will have to pay a heavy price, he wrote.
The influential ultra-Islamist figure warned that the least step back from the views of Imam Khomeini on the illegal regime that occupies al-Qods (Jerusalem) will encourage the beastly West to take more steps to blackmail us and demand more concessions.
