IRAN: A storm of protest from governments all over the world has greeted the declaration by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a Tehran conference that Israel should be "wiped off the map".
Leading the protests, Israel called for Iran's expulsion from the United Nations and there were renewed expressions of concern from the international community over the development of Iran's nuclear programme.
"A country that calls for the destruction of another people cannot be a member of the United Nations," said Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon.
Any move to expel Iran from the UN would require a Security Council recommendation and a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly. Taiwan was expelled in 1971 after the General Assembly voted to admit the People's Republic of China instead. South Africa was stripped of a vote in 1974 because of its apartheid policies but remained a member in technical terms.
UN secretary-general Kofi Annan expressed "dismay" at the Iranian president's remarks. He pointed out that, under the UN Charter, "all members have undertaken to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state".
In Dublin yesterday, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said he was "shocked and saddened" at the Iranian president's statement. "Immediately this morning, my officials conveyed to the Iranian embassy in Dublin the Government's clear view that the remarks, as reported, are entirely unacceptable."
Department of Foreign Affairs sources said Iranian ambassador Hamid Reza Nikkar was not in Dublin at present. He was reported last month to be under arrest in Tehran on charges of financial mismanagement.
Fine Gael foreign affairs spokesman Bernard Allen said Mr Ahmadinejad's comments were "absolutely unacceptable and must be condemned".
Labour's foreign affairs spokesman Michael D Higgins said the reported remarks were "offensive, indefensible, and, most of all, disastrous in the present atmosphere where the Middle East peace process is not just in a deep crisis but is on the verge of collapse".
Speaking on a visit to the Jordanian capital Amman, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov added his voice to the chorus of condemnation.
"I cannot fail to recognise that those who favour transferring the Iranian nuclear issue to the UN Security Council now have an additional argument for doing so," he said.
A statement on behalf of EU heads of government meeting in London also strongly condemned the Iranian leader.