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Holocaust a Lie, Pretext to Create Israel: Ahmadinejad
It was a pretext used to create a Jewish state, he says
By Sarah Quinn
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Posted Sep 18, 09 7:04 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Iran's president repeated his assertion that the Holocaust is a myth today, calling it a "pretext" used to create Israel, the New York Times reports. "It is a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told attendees at an anti-Israel rally in Tehran. "Confronting the Zionist regime is a national and religious duty" for Iranians, he said. "This regime will not last long. Do not tie your fate to it."
Elsewhere, reports are surfacing of violence and arrests at anti-government rallies, the AP notes. At one in Tehran, hardliners roughed up former President Mohammad Khatami and pushed him to the ground, says a reformist web site. Another unconfirmed report says pro-government demonstrators tried to attack Mir Hossein Mousavi, who left the march quickly afterward.