Iranian President demonstrates why Iran holds a special place in my heart

Here are the Iranians, being as helpful as ever in the quest for world peace.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and says that a new wave of Palestinian attacks will destroy the Jewish state. Not satisfied with these inflammatory statements, he went on to threaten the leaders of Muslim nations that recognize Israel.

Following publication of Ahmadinejad's comments, Israel has stated that they view Iran as a "clear and present danger". In their position, wouldn't you?

The Brits, God bless 'em, have called in Iran's ambassador to express their disgust over the statements. In the diplomatic world, that's pretty harsh.

Don't forget that Iran is almost certainly working on a nuclear program.

Iran seemed to be coming out of it's 20+ years of Islamic fundamentalism not so long ago. Khatami (the former President) was seen as a reformer, and there was news of student uprisings against the mullahs. That, apparently, has been beaten into submission, or at least a lower profile.

Once again, I have to do the old "I told you so" bit regarding Iran's (and the rest of the Muslim world's) position of power on the world stage. If we could come up with viable alternatives to oil, we could tell these maniacs to go jump in the lake. As it is, they have a ton of money, and have the West by the proverbial short 'n' curlies. An unpleasant metaphor, perhaps, but the situation we're in vis-a-vis these lunatics ain't too savory either.

UPDATE: Tony Blair (I love that guy) has expressed "revulsion" at the Iranian President's comments. And it wasn't the ambassador who was read the Riot Act by the Brit govt, it was the charge d'affaires. Still, that's about as strong as it gets in the lace-panty world of diplomats.

UPDATE UPDATE: Blair expresses "revulsion", while Kofi Annan expresses mere "dismay". Meanwhile, the Iranians tell us we're "overreacting" in a deliberate attempt to smear Iran's reputation in the world. Insert your own comments.

TRIPLE UPDATE: Now there's word of "massive anti-Israel protests" in Iran. They're all state-organized. I wonder how they got the crowd: Free goats to all who attend?

And, while we're updating, here's a picture from the "The World Without Zionism" conference where Ahmadinejad made his momentous proclamation. My question - Why is the banner in English? Hoping for a bit of pub, are we? Well, you got it.