Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Israelis Are Not Jews and American Leaders Are Not Christians; Life-Curve of the Superpowers Is on the Decline

Following are excerpts from an interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which aired on Esfahan TV on May 25, 2007.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Last year, I participated in a conference in New York. Some officials of that country [America] came as members of the Council on Foreign Relations, and said all kinds of things. Among other things, they said: "The [Israelis] are Jews. How come you are anti-Jewish?" I responded: I am not anti-Jewish at all. We are, in fact, that only people that believes in all the divine prophets. Our dear prophet was the heir of all the prophets, the most perfect of all prophets, and the Seal of the Prophets. All the world's monotheistic religions take price in our prophet. But you should know that those [Israelis] are lying. They are not Jews, but a bunch of corrupt criminals, who abuse the name of Judaism. They are lying. The leaders of arrogance [America] are lying too. Some of them pretend to be Christian, and at times even go to church.

In my letter to them [the Americans], I wrote: You purport to be Christian. In what way are your measures consistent with the teachings of Jesus? Would he have killed people? Would he have perpetrated crimes? Would he have plundered? Would he have started wars in order to sell weapons and kill people? Would he have perpetrated crimes in order to fill his pockets and the pockets of his party members? Jesus was the pillar of divine compassion and mercy. He opposed oppression, foreign invasion, and crime. This is why the criminals killed and crucified him. You are lying when you claim to be Christian. In what way are your actions consistent with the true New Testament? In what way do you resemble Jesus? My dears, all the oppression and misery originate in their region.

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The problem of humanity is the existence of these corrupt people and superpowers. But with God's grace, and thanks to your faith and steadfastness, the life-curve of these superpowers is on the decline. As we can see, they are on the path to rapid collapse. As you can see, wherever they go around the world, their policies encounter obstacles. Time and again, failure follows them wherever they go.

With the grace of God, and thanks to your faith and the unity of the Iranian people, the mask has been removed today from the face of these liars. The peoples have realized the truth about these liars, and are quickly mobilizing against their policies. Look around you. In Afghanistan, they are in a complete deadlock. In Iraq, they are in a complete deadlock. In Palestine and Lebanon, they are in a complete deadlock. Even within their own countries, they are in a complete deadlock. They don't know what to say to their peoples. They are subject to curses and insults from their own peoples as well.

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They go to a certain country, for example. The people of that country gather and say: "Get lost, get out of our country." Then the [Americans] say: "Did you see the reception we got? The people of that country support us." They say: "We represent the international community." Really?! You are not accepted even by your own people, let alone by the peoples of the world. Yet, you try to make decisions as if you were the representatives of other nations in the world. It is obvious that you are mistaken. It is obvious that you are being defeated. You should know that the Iranian people has found its way. The Iran of today is a nuclear Iran. Iran has nuclear industrial technology, and it will make progress. This technology belongs to each and every one in this nation. Nobody in this country has the right to negotiate [enrichment suspension, or to make concessions – not even for one second.