Iran president calls for democracy for Palestinians
Reuters
Date: 10-30-05
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday the only solution to the Middle East conflict was democracy for Palestinians, after provoking outcry last week by calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map."
The official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying the best step would be political rather than military.
"The only logical solution to solve the Palestinian issue is to hold free elections with the participation of Palestinians inside and outside the occupied territories and a recognition of the nation's legitimacy," he said after a meeting with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
When Iran uses the term "occupied territories" it usually means not only the West Bank and Gaza but the whole of Israel, whose right to exist Iran does not recognize.
Ahmadinejad appeared to be calling for full democratic representation for Palestinian refugees and migrs anywhere.
His comments last week sparked sharp international criticism, including a rebuke from the U.N. Security Council.
"I will ask U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to put on his agenda the formation of a democratic and legitimate Palestinian government," Ahmadinejad said on Sunday. Annan is expected to visit Iran in the next week or two.
Several countries summoned Iranian ambassadors last week to seek assurances that Tehran was not planning a military attack.
The United States and Britain said Ahmadinejad's remarks added to fears that Iran was planning to build nuclear arms. Tehran says its nuclear program is purely peaceful.
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