Denouncing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments denying the Holocaust and calling for Israel to be relocated to Europe, the United Nations Security Council has asked Tehran to refrain from issuing threats against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
In a statement, UNSC President Emyr Jones Parry of Britain said the council also fully endorsed the response of Secretary-General Kofi Annan who has expressed "shock" over the statement of the Iranian president.
Annan had recalled that the General Assembly recently adopted a resolution rejecting denial of the Holocaust and urged all countries to educate their populations about that genocide.
"The members of the Security Council reaffirm the rights and obligations of the state of Israel as a full and long-standing member of the United Nations, and reaffirm that, under the United Nations Charter, all members have undertaken to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state," Parry said Friday.
Ahmadinejad's comments in which he reportedly cast doubt on the truth of the Holocaust and suggested that the state of Israel should be moved from the Middle East to Europe have triggered sharp reactions across the globe with Israel demanding that the international community take "swift and strong" action against Iran for the "outrageous and racist" comments.
