Holocaust a 'big deception'

2009-06-03 17:04

Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has once again called the Holocaust a "big deception" in his latest denunciations of Israel and its allies.

The comments come amid a fierce election campaign in which his firebrand style has come under attack from challengers.

Ahmadinejad's main pro-reform rival, Mir Hossein Mousavi, has said the president's constant questioning of the Holocaust has undermined Iran's international standing.

Ahmadinejad told a gathering of international scholars Wednesday that Israel uses the "big deception of the Holocaust" to sway allies in the West.

Ahmadinejad has previously questioned the extent of the Holocaust and called for Israel to be "wiped from the map".

- AP