Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who maintains warm ties with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad, said Friday in a television interview that he opposed Ahmadinejad's call to "wipe Israel off the map." | "I don't agree with [Ahmadinejad's] statementsÂ…I don't support causing harm to any nation," Chavez declared. Chavez has repeatedly raised the ire of Jewish groups by making remarks deemed anti-Semitic. |
In addition, Chavez has come out in support of Iran's nuclear program as well as denouncing the summer's war in Lebanon, accusing Israel of a 'new Holocaust.' At the Non-Aligned Movement summit, which was held in Cuba leading up to Ahamdinejad's visit to Caracas in September, Venezuela and Iran channeled the tide of global anti-US sentiment into support for Iran's right to nuclear energy.
Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad reiterated on Friday that new sanctions will not force Iran to give up its right to enrich uranium and blasted the UN Security Council as an instrument used by "bullying" Western nations against Teheran.