Tehran, Aug 30: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaking Thursday at the NAM summit being hosted by his country, called Israelis “ferocious Zionist wolves who digest the Palestinian people.”
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who controversially decided to attend the summit amid the Islamic Republic’s growing nuclear program and routine calls for the Jewish state’s destruction, defended Israel in a statement before the start of the summit, but did not specifically mention Iran.
“Claiming that Israel does not have the right to exist or describing it in racist terms is not only wrong but undermines the very principle we all have pledged to uphold,” Ban, who also did not leave the room in protest during Khamenei’s speech, said.
Martin Nesirky, Ban’s spokesman, said the secretary-general conveyed to Khamenei and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in separate meetings that their anti-Semitic diatribes were unacceptable. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, however, said Ban’s decision to attend the NAM summit held greater significance than his words.
“Ban’s contention that he could only deliver a strong message to Iran in Iran doesn’t hold water—his message has been watered down by his very presence there,” Ayalon told Israel Radio.” If he wanted to deliver a strong message, he could have done it best by not attending.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the summit, which drew more than 120 countries to Iran, “a disgrace and a stain on humanity.”
The opening day of NAM also witnessed some awkward moments when Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said that it is an "ethical duty" to support the Syrian people against the "oppressive regime" in Damascus.
Morsi's speech prompted a walkout by the Syrians, the Al-Jazeera channel reported, though there was no independent confirmation of this.
The Egyptian President's remarks are an embarrassment to Iran, which has been an open supporter of the Assad regime.
Morsi's visit to Iran is the first by an Egyptian leader since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Addressing the NAM Summit, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the US of killing people in "large numbers and in organised ways" in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan and also blamed the UNSC for the crisis in the Middle East.
He also said that the grouping of 120 nations should reconsider its goals and aspirations to have a part in governance of the international community.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 30 Aug 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 31 Aug 2012 00:00:00 IST