Khamenei tweeted that “Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated: it is possible and it will happen.”
By: United with Israel Staff
Iran’s Supreme leader again openly called for Israel’s complete destruction as his country continues its program to develop nuclear weapons and long-range missiles with which to deliver them.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeted Sunday that Iran’s “stance against Israel is the same stance we have always taken. Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated: it is possible and it will happen.”
Khamenei’s tweet over the weekend was followed by an announcement Monday that he had ordered Iranian atomic authorities to increase the nation’s nuclear enrichment capacity, claiming the step did not violate the 2015 nuclear deal, which European countries are desperately trying to salvage after the US’ pull out.
Responding to the open threat of annihilation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “We will not let that happen.”
In a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Monday, Netanyahu noted that Khamenei “said again that Israel is a cancer that has to be eradicated, will be eradicated from the earth. And this is amazing that in the beginning of the 21st century, somebody talks about destroying Israel. It means destroying another six million plus Jews. It’s quite extraordinary that this goes on, but this is what we face.”
“And it’s important to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. We commit, and I commit again, that we will not let that happen,” he stated.
Merkel said that Germany “sharply” condemned Khamenei’s offensive statement, but at the same time reiterated her view that the nuclear agreement was the best way to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons.
Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman responded to Khamenei on Tuesday, deeming the Iranian leader’s call to ramp up uranium enrichment a symptom of “mass hysteria and panic.”
Israel Pokes Fun at Khamenei
Mark Regev, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, tweeted “Compare & contrast: two tweets in 24 hours.”
Netanyahu “calls for Israelis and Iranians to work together ‘for the betterment of all humanity,’” while Khamenei called “Israel ‘a malignant cancerous tumour […] that has to be removed & eradicated’ Who do you stand with?” he tweeted.
Regev was referring to a clip posted by Netanyahu on Saturday in which he praised the Iranian people, acknowledging their brilliance, innovation and talent.
He also lamented the suffering they endure at the hands of the brutal Ayatollah regime.
Israel’s embassy in the US poked fun at the Iranian threat to destroy it by replying to Khamenei with an animated GIF asking, “Why are you so obsessed with me?” featuring Rachel McAdams in the 2004 movie “Mean Girls.”
Israel’s consulate in New York also tweeted, “Anyone who continues to support a deal with Iran that enables this genocidal regime to obtain nuclear weapons should be made to rewrite this tweet from its Supreme Leader 100 times on a blackboard, Bart Simpson style.”
Khamenei calls for Israel’s destruction almost on a weekly basis, while Iran has repeatedly threatened to wipe Israel off the face of the map.
In June 2017, Iran unveiled a digital clock in Tehran’s center counting down the days to what it says will be the destruction of Israel in 2040. The time frame appears to stem from comments made in 2015 by Khamenei, who vowed there will be “nothing” left of Israel in 25 years.
Khamenei proclaimed, “You [Israelis] will not see the coming 25 years and, God willing, there will not be something named the Zionist regime in next 25 years.”