Just in time for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted a video to his official website questioning the magnitude of the Nazi regime’s genocide of the Jewish people during World War II.
In a video entitled “Are the Dark Ages Over,” a ;linked images showing killed and injured Palestinian children appears on the screen, while a Farsi-speaking man, possibly Khamenei himself, is heard condemning the global community for its support of Israel.
“It is Western powers headed by America that are [supporting Israel,]” the voice over intones. “This is while they say in their slogans that they are opposed to terrorism and [the Islamic State terrorist group.]”
The disembodied voice then blames European nations for “silencing” any views that do not conform to the “historically sanctioned” account of the Nazis murders of the Jews.
“No one in European countries dares to speak about the Holocaust, while it is not clear whether the core of the matter is reality or not,” the narrator drones on. “Even if it is reality, it is not clear how it happened. Speaking about the Holocaust and expressing doubts about it is considered to be a great sin. If someone does this, they stop, arrest, imprison and sue him. This is why they claim to be supporters of freedom.”
The video was uploaded with impeccable timing, just as Khamenei’s rival, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was visiting Europe, with trips to Italy, where he met with the pope and the prime minister of Italy on Tuesday, and France.
Not to be left out, as he prepared to leave Rome for Paris on Wednesday, Rouhani charged that the “Zionist Lobby in the United States is impeding warmer Iran-US ties.
Among the trip’s achievements: The French giant Peugeot Citroen and an Iranian partner will invest 435 million in the next five years upgrading their auto plant near Tehran in what the French carmaker says is the first industrial accord signed by a western company since economic sanctions on Iran were lifted this month.
The venture with Iran Khodro will produce 100,000 vehicles a year starting in late 2017, with output eventually doubling. The revamped factory, which opened about 50 years ago, will make Peugeot’s 208 hatchback, 301 sedan and 2008 crossover.