Foreign condemnation

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "a disgrace", in the wake of a speech in which the Iranian leader again calls the Holocaust "a lie."

"Today's statements by the Iranian president are unacceptable," Steinmeier said in a statement on Friday. "With his intolerable tirades he is a disgrace to his country. This sheer anti-Semitism demands our collective condemnation. We will continue to confront it decisively in the future."

Ahmadinejad was speaking to crowds at Tehran University as part of an anti-Israel "Quds (Jerusalem) Day" rally. He also said that Israel "has no future. Its life has come to an end."

Steinmeier's condemnation is his most strongly worded yet. The White House, the French foreign ministry and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband have also denounced Ahmadinejad's remarks.

This isn't the first time the Iranian president has been criticized for his attitude toward Israel. He has previously called for Israel to be wiped off the map and has repeatedly said the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed, was "a myth."

In Germany, denial of the Holocaust is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

svs/Reuters/AFP/AP
Editor: Susan Houlton