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Incoming Iranian Leader’s Remarks Stir Fury in Israel Iran’s President-Elect Provokes Furor Abroad With Remarks on Israel
(about 4 hours later)
TEHRAN — Two days before he officially took office, Iran’s president-elect touched off an international uproar on Friday with disputed comments about its archenemy Israel, engendering a furious rejoinder from the Israeli prime minister that illustrated the wide gap between the two countries, fed by decades of hostility and mutual distrust. TEHRAN — Iran’s president-elect touched off an international uproar on Friday with disputed comments about Israel, engendering a furious rejoinder from the Israeli prime minister that illustrated the wide gap between the two countries, fed by decades of hostility, even as the new Iranian leader has signaled his wish to pursue a more conciliatory approach in world affairs.
The president-elect, Hassan Rouhani, attending an annual pro-Palestinian holiday in Iran known as Quds Day, a reference to the Arabic name for Jerusalem, said in comments to state television that “a sore has been sitting on the body of the Islamic world for many years,” a reference to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. The comments from the president-elect, Hassan Rouhani, came two days before he officially takes office, plunging him into what amounted to his first international test over Israel, one of the most vexing topics for an Iranian politician.
Although Mr. Rouhani never mentioned Israel in the television clip, nor use the favored Iranian description of Israel as the “Zionist regime,” at least three Iranian news agencies appeared to misquote him as saying: the “Zionist regime is a sore which must be removed.” Later in the day they posted corrections. Attending an annual pro-Palestinian holiday in Iran known as Al Quds Day, a reference to the Arabic name for Jerusalem and an occasion in which Iranians march and shout “Death to Israel,” Mr. Rouhani told state television that “a sore has been sitting on the body of the Islamic world for many years,” a reference to Israel.
Compared with the anti-Israeli invective often heard from other Iranian leaders, most notably Mr. Rouhani’s predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the remarks were mild — a possible indication of Mr. Rouhani’s effort to portray himself as a moderate who wants to take steps to ease Iran’s tensions with the West. At least three Iranian news agencies appeared to misquote him as saying: the “Zionist regime is a sore which must be removed.” Later in the day they posted corrections.
Nevertheless, the initial translation of Mr. Rouhani’s comments infuriated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. He has previously described Mr. Rouhani as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” whose June 14 election victory was unlikely to change Iran’s policies, particularly regarding what Israel views as an Iranian determination to become a nuclear weapons power. Mr. Rouhani, who has sought to portray himself as a moderate, did not use the most inflammatory anti-Israeli invective sometimes heard from other Iranian leaders, most notably Mr. Rouhani’s predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called Israel a cancerous tumor, a virus and an aberration that should be expunged from history.
Nevertheless, the initial news agency translation of Mr. Rouhani’s comments from the state television videotape infuriated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. He has previously described Mr. Rouhani as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” whose surprising June 14 election victory was unlikely to change Iran’s policies, particularly regarding what Israel views as an Iranian determination to become a nuclear weapons power.
“Rouhani’s true face has been revealed earlier than expected,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement. “Even if they will now rush to deny his remarks, this is what the man thinks and this is the plan of the Iranian regime. These remarks by President Rouhani must rouse the world from the illusion that part of it has been caught up in since the Iranian elections.“Rouhani’s true face has been revealed earlier than expected,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement. “Even if they will now rush to deny his remarks, this is what the man thinks and this is the plan of the Iranian regime. These remarks by President Rouhani must rouse the world from the illusion that part of it has been caught up in since the Iranian elections.
“The president there has changed but the goal of the regime has not: To achieve nuclear weapons in order to threaten Israel, the Middle East and the peace and security of the entire world. A country that threatens the destruction of the State of Israel must not be allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction.” “The president there has changed, but the goal of the regime has not: to achieve nuclear weapons in order to threaten Israel, the Middle East and the peace and security of the entire world. A country that threatens the destruction of the state of Israel must not be allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction.”
When told later that the original translation had been wrong, and that Mr. Rouhani had in fact not referred directly to Israel or said anything about removing the “sore,” Mr. Netanyahu’s office was unmoved and seemingly uninterested in nuance. “We stand by what we say,” said his spokesman, Mark Regev. “The remarks attributed to him we think, we are sure, that represents his true outlook.” When told later that the original translation had been wrong, and that the videotape showed Mr. Rouhani had in fact not referred directly to Israel or said anything about removing the “sore,” Mr. Netanyahu’s office was unmoved and seemingly uninterested in nuance. “We stand by what we say,” said his spokesman, Mark Regev. “The remarks attributed to him we think, we are sure, that represents his true outlook.”
Whether intended or not, the episode represented Mr. Rouhani’s first international test over Israel, one of the most vexing subjects for Iranian leaders. As for the videotape, Mr. Regev asked: “Is it the whole recording? Is it part of the recording?”
While he has espoused an approach of moderation that would help improve Iran’s relations with the outside world — an approach that helped him win the election — he had been expected to say something critical about Israel at the Quds Day celebration, an annual ritual here for Iranian politicians and a reflection of of what they view as Israel’s illegitimacy. “The Iranians have the ability to move things,” he said. “We know there’s a consistent pattern of Iranian behavior of saying things and then backtracking. The Iranians have ways inside Iran to censor their message. They have the ability to control their press.”
Walking among people holding up signs saying “Death to Israel” and pictures of maimed Palestinian children, Mr. Rouhani, who is nicknamed “the diplomatic sheik” for his suave sentences, gave a preplanned statement to waiting television cameras. Meir Javendanfar, an Iranian-Israeli who runs the blog Middle East Analyst, said the flap showed that “everybody is hypersensitive with regards to any statement that Iran makes regarding Israel.”
He said that “after eight years of Israel being called a virus and a cancer, and Holocaust denial, Israelis are very sensitive about anything that is said about their country.”
Mr. Rouhani had been expected to say something critical about Israel at the Quds Day celebration, an annual ritual here for Iranian politicians. Iran does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Walking among celebrators holding signs reading “Death to Israel” and pictures of maimed Palestinian children, Mr. Rouhani, nicknamed “the diplomatic sheik” for his suave sentences, gave a preplanned statement to waiting television cameras.
“In our region, a sore has been sitting on the body of the Islamic world for many years, in the shadow of the occupation of the holy land of Palestine and the dear Quds,” he said. “This day is in fact a reminder of the fact that Muslim people will not forget their historic right and will continue to stand against aggression and tyranny.”“In our region, a sore has been sitting on the body of the Islamic world for many years, in the shadow of the occupation of the holy land of Palestine and the dear Quds,” he said. “This day is in fact a reminder of the fact that Muslim people will not forget their historic right and will continue to stand against aggression and tyranny.”
As Israel and its supporters often point out, there is a long history in Iran of official insults aimed at Israel and the Jewish religion. In 2005, Mr. Ahmadinejad was famously quoted as saying Israel must be “wiped off the map,” during a conference called “A world without Zionism.” Political analysts in Iran viewed Mr. Rouhani’s words as a calibrated attempt to both pay homage to the holiday and set himself apart from Mr. Ahmadinejad. But they acknowledged the difficulties.
While it later became clear from tapes of his remarks that he had actually said “Israel must vanish from the pages of history,” it made his international image as a staunch anti-Semitic hard-liner. That image has only been reinforced by Mr. Ahmadinejad’s publicly expressed doubts that the Holocaust ever happened. “When it comes to discussion of Israel, Iranian moderates are damned if they do, damned if they don’t,” said Mohammad Ali Shabani, a political analyst and a contributing editor to the Institute for Strategic Research Journals, a government-supported group in Tehran. “Harsh words put them in a tight spot abroad, while light criticism does the same at home. It’s really hard to maneuver around this subject.”
On Friday, in his final public speech, Mr. Ahmadinejad repeated those doubts. As Israel and its supporters often point out, Iran has a long history of official insults aimed at Israel and the Jewish religion. In 2005, Mr. Ahmadinejad was famously quoted as saying Israel must be “wiped off the map,” during a conference called “A World Without Zionism.”
In 2006, Mr. Ahmadinejad organized a conference in Tehran to which famous Holocaust deniers were invited, among them the former Ku Klux Klan member David Duke. While some translations of his remarks showed he had actually said Israel “must vanish from the pages of history,” it made his international image as a staunch anti-Semitic hard-liner. That image has only been reinforced by Mr. Ahmadinejad’s publicly expressed doubts that the Holocaust ever happened — a doubt that he repeated on Friday in his own Quds Day remarks.

Thomas Erdbrink reported from Tehran, and Jodi Rudoren from Jerusalem.

Mr. Javendanfar said that in Israeli eyes, Mr. Rouhani’s remarks still reflected a basic Iranian antipathy that will not change under his tenure.
An optimist might think that “we’ve been upgraded from a cancerous tumor to a wound,” he said, but a realist would say, “Despite the fact that Ahmadinejad is not in charge, hostile statements from Iran continue to be directed toward Israel.”
Emily Landau, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv, said that while Mr. Rouhani might be more moderate than his predecessor in terms of women’s rights and the Internet, she did not expect any change in foreign policy, over which Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, remains firmly in control.
“Is it really an indication of moderation if it’s a sore and not a cancer?” she asked.
Still, Ms. Landau said Mr. Netanyahu might be alienating allies by equating Mr. Rouhani with his hard-line colleagues before he even took office.
“I don’t think it’s useful to use phrases like a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing,’ because that’s just the kind of phrase that people think sounds very aggressive and that’s immediately rejected,” she said.

Thomas Erdbrink reported from Tehran, and Jodi Rudoren from Jerusalem. Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York.