Hardline President Ebrahim Raisi made the comment during an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” on the eve of his visit to New York for the UN General Assembly. When asked if he believes the Holocaust happened, Raisi said “there is some evidence that it happened.”
He added: “If so, they should allow investigation and research.”
Shortly after the interview aired, outrage spread to Israel, a country home to tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors. The president of Israel’s official Holocaust memorial center, Yad Wassem, blasted Raisi as a “despicable anti-Semite.”
“Even disputing the event of the Holocaust is one of the most abhorrent forms of anti-Semitism,” said Dani Dayan.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, whose late father was a Holocaust survivor, posted a series of graphic photographs of the genocide on Twitter with the caption: “Some signs.”
Israel’s UN ambassador Gilad Erdan also slammed Raisi’s comments as “shocking”, calling on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to deny him “a global stage to spread anti-Semitism and hatred”.
Raisi will address the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly later this week, his first appearance at the annual gathering of world leaders.
Raisi, an ultraconservative cleric known for his hostility to the West, became president last year.
Israel considers Iran its greatest enemy and threat. Iran has long supported armed groups committed to the destruction of Israel. Its leaders have called for Israel to be wiped off the map and have previously made statements distorting the history of the genocide that killed 6 million Jews or denying its existence.
