Iran’s Ahmadinejad questions Holocaust

Tehran:Double standards in favor of Israel and of disregarding violations of Palestinian rights has set down by super powers,Iranian president said that ‘twisted propaganda’ was used to depict Jews as oppressed.Iranian President Mahmoud AhmadinejadIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday lashed out at Israel and the West, questioning whether the Holocaust happened and calling it a pretext for occupying Palestinian lands, reiterating anti-Israel rhetoric that has brought him international condemnation.He said that after World War II, Jews claimed that 'several million Jews were burned in ovens' and they used 'twisted propaganda plots' to depict Jews as oppressed.'Then they said they need a state and an independent land and worked so hard that many politicians and thinkers were duped and influenced (by their claims),''If the Holocaust was a real event, why don't they allow research on it to clear up facts?' said Ahmadinejad, adding that if the Holocaust did occur, it was in Europe so there was no reason to compensate Jews with Arab land.As he spoke, tens of thousands of government supporters and thousands of pro-opposition activists held competing rallies across Tehran, underscoring the crisis that has gripped the country since Ahmadinejad's June re-election for a second term in office.Ahmadinejad's questioning of the Holocaust and repeated predictions of Israel's demise have drawn international condemnation. Even some Iranians have criticized him for needlessly provoking the West with the rhetoric, but Ahmadinejad has persisted, apparently seeking to burnish his reputation for defying Iran's rivals and to drum up support among ordinary Iranians who see the Palestinian suffering as an injustice sponsored by the West.Ahmadinejad pledged Iran's full support for Palestinians and said Quds Day was the 'day of unity' for Iranians, Muslims and the international community. Pro-Palestinian marches were also held elsewhere in the Mideast, in the Syrian capital Damascus and the West Bank.