Anger in Israel and America over the Iranian president's statements about the Holocaust
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's recent statements regarding the Holocaust have sparked outrage in Israel and around the world.
During an interview with CBS, Raisi was asked if he thought the Holocaust really happened.
Raisi responded, according to a text published by Iran's presidential office: "Look, historical events must be investigated by researchers and historians. There are some signs of this happening. If so, they should allow investigation and research."
"No matter what historians say about this issue, history cannot be denied," Raisi added.
His comments sparked a wave of criticism in Israel.
"Some signs!!" Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a tweet on the social networking site "Twitter" with pictures of the victims of the Holocaust.
"You don't have to be a historian or a scientist to understand the horrors of the Holocaust," said IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi, who visited the Auschwitz death camp on Monday, according to army sources.
The United States also criticized these statements, as the National Security Adviser to US President Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan, said in a tweet to him on "Twitter", "This statement from the Iranian president is outrageous and must be condemned globally."
US Commissioner for Anti-Semitism and Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt called a key statement "a form of Holocaust denial and a form of anti-Semitism."
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news