Ahmadinejad Speaks to Holocaust Conference: Israel Will Disappear Like USSR

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has told a conference in Tehran questioning the Holocaust that Israel's days are numbered. "Just as the USSR disappeared, soon the Zionist regime will disappear," he said to the applause of the participants. "The trend for the existence of the Zionist regime is downwards and this is what God has promised and what all nations want."

Ahmadinejad has repeatedly downplayed the extent of the Holocaust, describing it as a myth used to justify the existence of Israel and oppression of the Palestinians. He has called for an end to the Israeli state. Many Iranians must be wondering why they have the right to deny the Holocaust with impunity, but not to question their own leaders without risking jail.