Russian FM rebukes Iran over calls for Israel’s destruction

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rebukes Iran for calling for the destruction of Israel, calling it an “absolutely wrong” approach to government policy.

“We have stated many times that we won’t accept the statements that Israel, as a Zionist state, should be destroyed and wiped off the map,” he says at the Valdai Discussion Club’s Middle East Conference according to the state-run Tass news agency. “I believe this is an absolutely wrong way to advance one’s own interests.”

“By the same token, we oppose attempts to view any regional problem through the prism of fighting Iran,” he said. “This is happening in Syria, Yemen, and even the latest developments around the Palestinian issue, including Washington’s announcement of its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, are largely motivated by this anti-Iranian stance.”