Israel Matzav

Ahmadinejad to Obama: 'Abandon Israel and we'll talk'

At a press conference in Istanbul on Monday night, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spurned the outstretched hand of American President Barack Obama, telling Obama that he would have to choose between Iran and Israel.

[Ahmadinejad] told a press conference in Istanbul that Obama had failed to deliver his promise of change in US foreign policy and said he had to choose between Israel and relations with Iran.

...

Speaking at the end of a summit of 57 Islamic countries, Ahmadinejad was less conciliatory on the US, a possibility raised by Obama's offer to "reach out a hand" to Iran after 30 years of ruptured ties. Asked by the Guardian what conditions the US would have fulfil for relations to be restored, Ahmadinejad said: "Change should happen in practice. Which change has happened? Was Guantánamo Bay shut down? Were the US policies supporting Zionists and the mass murder of Palestinians stopped? Were the US policies in Afghanistan changed? Were the policies in Iraq changed?

"Obama should take big decisions and changes. He can't collect the support of the illegal murderous Zionist regime [Israel] and the countries of the region as well. Earning friendship of the countries in the region is not compatible with the Zionist regime's friendship. I know that dropping the Zionist regime is a difficult choice and task. [But] he should confront the Zionists and obviously the changes would not take place unless big choices happen."

Fortunately, Congress is unlikely to let Obama completely abandon Israel. But that doesn't mean that Obama will destroy his chance for 'change' by actually taking action against Iran's nuclear threat.

What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:14 PM