Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Controversies of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad" in English language version.
{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)He used the annual rally for Jerusalem Day, also known as Quds Day, to deliver a fiery anti-Israeli speech in which he called the Holocaust "a lie" and impugned the West again for its criticisms of Iran's disputed June 12 presidential election.…Mr. Ahmadinejad said that confrontation with Israel was a "national and religious duty" and that the Holocaust was "a lie" that was used as a pretext for the country's creation in 1948. Although he has called the Holocaust a "myth" in the past, provoking angry reactions in the West, he has rarely if ever used the word "lie" in public speeches.and asks people to educate themselves on both sides of the issue.
The White House responded sharply to the remarks about the Holocaust. "We've heard that type of rhetoric before," the president's press secretary, Robert Gibbs, told reporters. "Obviously, we condemn what he said."
Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain called it "shocking beyond belief," Agence France-Presse reported. "I think it is such a symbol of sectarianism and hatred towards people of another religion, I find it just unbelievable." The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, condemned "in the strongest terms" dismissals of the Holocaust by "revisionist" historians, and the Vatican described the Holocaust as an "appalling tragedy to which one cannot remain indifferent." The French foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, called "the resurgence of revisionist ideas" on the Holocaust "unacceptable."
A group of Iranian academics, writers and artists has denounced the Holocaust conference held in Tehran late last year, calling it a move that endangered peace and hurt the reputation of Iranian academics.…The statement said the conference harmed the academic image of Iranian universities and merely provided a pretext for warmongers in the region. It added that the gathering perpetuated the immoral stance of Holocaust denial, a position that seriously endangers world peace. "The extensive material evidence, the confessions made in the Nuremberg trial and other trials that took place after the war and the testimonies of the survivors established the veracity of the accounts beyond any doubt," the statement said. "The accuracy of the accounts has been acknowledged by many academic, political and religious authorities, including the Catholic Church." The statement added that talking inconsiderately about the genocide can only be described as rubbing salt into a historical wound. "Those who perpetuate the discourse on Holocaust denial ignore the feelings of the people directly affected by this event," it said.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejed must crave international criticism, said Alan Cowell in The New York Times. The Iranian president "on Friday called the Holocaust a myth as his country marked an annual pro-Palestinian demonstration." Ahmadinejad also said confronting Israel was a national and religious duty. His latest Holocaust denial, coming just days before talks between his government and Western powers, "seemed likely to cast a cloud" on hopes for reining in Iran's nuclear program.
Ahmadinejad was quoted by the Iranian News Agency (IRNA) as saying that the angering of "professional man-slayers is a source of pride for us and will not stand in our way", apparently in reference to Israel and the West.