'Wiped off the Map' ? The Rumor of the Century 
 
by Arash Norouzi 
Across the world, a dangerous rumor has spread that could have 
catastrophic implications. According to legend, Iran's president has 
threatened to destroy Israel, or, to quote the misquote, "Israel must 
be wiped off the map." Contrary to popular belief, this statement was 
never made.

On Tuesday, October 25th, 2005 at the Ministry of Interior conference 
hall in Tehran, newly elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 
delivered a speech at a program, reportedly attended by thousands, 
titled "The World Without Zionism." Large posters surrounding him 
displayed this title prominently in English, obviously for the benefit 
of the international press. Below the poster's title was a slick 
graphic depicting an hour glass containing planet Earth at its top. Two 
small round orbs representing the United States and Israel are shown 
falling through the hour glass' narrow neck and crashing to the bottom.

Before we get to the infamous remark, it's important to note that the 
"quote" in question was itself a quote ? they are the words of the late 
Ayatollah Khomenei, the father of the Islamic Revolution. Although he 
quoted Khomeini to affirm his own position on Zionism, the actual words 
belong to Khomeini and not Ahmadinejad. Thus, Ahmadinejad has 
essentially been credited (or blamed) for a quote that is not only 
unoriginal, but represents a viewpoint already in place well before he 
ever took office.  

The Actual Quote:

So what did Ahmadinejad actually say? To quote his exact words in 
Farsi:

"Imam ghoft een rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods bayad az safheh-ye ruzgar 
mahv shavad." 

That passage will mean nothing to most people, but one word might ring 
a bell: rezhim-e. It is the word "regime." pronounced just like the 
English word with an extra "eh" sound at the end. Ahmadinejad did not 
refer to Israel the country or Israel the land mass, but the Israeli 
regime. This is a vastly significant distinction, as one cannot wipe a 
regime off the map. Ahmadinejad does not even refer to Israel by name, 
he instead uses the specific phrase "rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods" 
(regime occupying Jerusalem).

So this raises the question.. what exactly did he want "wiped from the 
map"? The answer is: nothing. That's because the word "map" was never 
used. The Persian word for map, "nagsheh" is not contained anywhere in 
his original Farsi quote, or, for that matter, anywhere in his entire 
speech. Nor was the western phrase "wipe out" ever said. Yet we are led 
to believe that Iran's president threatened to "wipe Israel off the 
map." despite never having uttered the words "map." "wipe out" or even 
"Israel."

The Proof:

The full quote translated directly to English:

"The Imam said this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the 
page of time."

Word by word translation:

Imam (Khomeini) ghoft (said) een (this) rezhim-e (regime) ishghalgar-e 
(occupying) qods (Jerusalem) bayad (must) az safheh-ye ruzgar (from 
page of time) mahv shavad (vanish from). 

Here is the full transcript of the speech in Farsi, archived on 
Ahmadinejad's web site

The Speech and Context:

While the false "wiped off the map" extract has been repeated 
infinitely without verification, Ahmadinejad's actual speech itself has 
been almost entirely ignored. Given the importance placed on the "map" 
comment, it would be sensible to present his words in their full 
context to get a fuller understanding of his position. In fact, by 
looking at the entire speech, there is a clear, logical trajectory 
leading up to his call for a "world without Zionism." One may disagree 
with his reasoning, but critical appraisals are infeasible without 
first knowing what that reasoning is.

In his speech, Ahmadinejad declares that Zionism is the West's 
apparatus of political oppression against Muslims. He says the "Zionist 
regime" was imposed on the Islamic world as a strategic bridgehead to 
ensure domination of the region and its assets. Palestine, he insists, 
is the frontline of the Islamic world's struggle with American 
hegemony, and its fate will have repercussions for the entire Middle 
East.

Ahmadinejad acknowledges that the removal of America's powerful grip 
on the region via the Zionists may seem unimaginable to some, but 
reminds the audience that, as Khomeini predicted, other seemingly 
invincible empires have disappeared and now only exist in history 
books. He then proceeds to list three such regimes that have collapsed, 
crumbled or vanished, all within the last 30 years:

(1) The Shah of Iran ? the U.S. installed monarch

(2) The Soviet Union

(3) Iran's former arch-enemy, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein

In the first and third examples, Ahmadinejad prefaces their mention 
with Khomeini's own words foretelling that individual regime's demise. 
He concludes by referring to Khomeini's unfulfilled wish: "The Imam 
said this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time. 
This statement is very wise." This is the passage that has been 
isolated, twisted and distorted so famously. By measure of comparison, 
Ahmadinejad would seem to be calling for regime change, not war.

The Origin:

One may wonder: where did this false interpretation originate? Who is 
responsible for the translation that has sparked such worldwide 
controversy? The answer is surprising. 

The inflammatory "wiped off the map" quote was first disseminated not 
by Iran's enemies, but by Iran itself. The Islamic Republic News 
Agency, Iran's official propaganda arm, used this phrasing in the 
English version of some of their news releases covering the World 
Without Zionism conference. International media including the BBC, Al-
Jazeera, Time magazine and countless others picked up the IRNA quote 
and made headlines out of it without verifying its accuracy, and rarely 
referring to the source. Iran's Foreign Minister soon attempted to 
clarify the statement, but the quote had a life of its own. Though the 
IRNA wording was inaccurate and misleading, the media assumed it was 
true, and besides, it made great copy. 

Amid heated wrangling over Iran's nuclear program, and months of 
continuous, unfounded accusations against Iran in an attempt to rally 
support for preemptive strikes against the country, the imperialists 
had just been handed the perfect raison d'être to invade. To the war 
hawks, it was a gift from the skies.

It should be noted that in other references to the conference, the 
IRNA's translation changed. For instance, "map" was replaced with 
"earth." In some articles it was "The Qods occupier regime should be 
eliminated from the surface of earth." or the similar "The Qods 
occupying regime must be eliminated from the surface of earth." The 
inconsistency of the IRNA's translation should be evidence enough of 
the unreliability of the source, particularly when transcribing their 
news from Farsi into the English language.

The Reaction:  

The mistranslated "wiped off the map" quote attributed to Iran's 
president has been spread worldwide, repeated thousands of times in 
international media, and prompted the denouncements of numerous world 
leaders. Virtually every major and minor media outlet has published or 
broadcast this false statement to the masses. Big news agencies such as 
The Associated Press and Reuters refer to the misquote, literally, on 
an almost daily basis. 

Following news of Iran's remark, condemnation was swift. British Prime 
Minister Tony Blair expressed "revulsion" and implied that it might be 
necessary to attack Iran. U.N. chief Kofi Annan cancelled his scheduled 
trip to Iran due to the controversy. Ariel Sharon demanded that Iran be 
expelled from the United Nations for calling for Israel's destruction. 
Shimon Peres, more than once, threatened to wipe Iran off the map. More 
recently, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, who has warned that Iran is 
"preparing another holocaust for the Jewish state" is calling for 
Ahmadinejad to be tried for war crimes for inciting genocide. 

The artificial quote has also been subject to additional alterations. 
U.S. officials and media often take the liberty of dropping the "map" 
reference altogether, replacing it with the more acutely threatening 
phrase "wipe Israel off the face of the earth." Newspaper and magazine 
articles dutifully report Ahmadinejad has "called for the destruction 
of Israel." as do senior officials in the United States government. 

President George W. Bush said the comments represented a "specific 
threat" to destroy Israel. In a March 2006 speech in Cleveland, Bush 
vowed he would resort to war to protect Israel from Iran, because, "the 
threat from Iran is, of course, their stated objective to destroy our 
ally Israel." Former presidential advisor Richard Clarke told 
Australian TV that Iran "talks openly about destroying Israel." and 
insists, "The president of Iran has said repeatedly that he wants to 
wipe Israel off the face of the earth." In an October 2006 interview 
with Amy Goodman, former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter referred to 
Ahmadinejad as "the idiot that comes out and says really stupid, vile 
things, such as, 'It is the goal of Iran to wipe Israel off the face of 
the earth.'" The consensus is clear.

Confusing matters further, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pontificates rather 
than give a direct answer when questioned about the statement, such as 
in Lally Weymouth's Washington Post interview in September 2006:

"Q: Are you really serious when you say that Israel should be wiped 
off the face of the Earth?

"A: We need to look at the scene in the Middle East ? 60 years of war, 
60 years of displacement, 60 years of conflict, not even a day of 
peace. Look at the war in Lebanon, the war in Gaza ?  what are the 
reasons for these conditions? We need to address and resolve the root 
problem.

"Q: Your suggestion is to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth?

"A: Our suggestion is very clear:... Let the Palestinian people decide 
their fate in a free and fair referendum, and the result, whatever it 
is, should be accepted.... The people with no roots there are now 
ruling the land.

"Q: You've been quoted as saying that Israel should be wiped off the 
face of the Earth. Is that your belief?

"A: What I have said has made my position clear. If we look at a map 
of the Middle East from 70 years ago...

"Q: So, the answer is yes, you do believe that it should be wiped off 
the face of the Earth?

"A: Are you asking me yes or no? Is this a test? Do you respect the 
right to self-determination for the Palestinian nation? Yes or no? Is 
Palestine, as a nation, considered a nation with the right to live 
under humane conditions or not? Let's allow those rights to be enforced 
for these 5 million displaced people."

The exchange is typical of Ahmadinejad's interviews with the American 
media. Predictably, both Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes and CNN's Anderson 
Cooper asked if he wants to "wipe Israel off the map." As usual, the 
question is thrown back in the reporter's face with his standard "Don't 
the Palestinians have rights?, etc." retort (which is never directly 
answered either). Yet he never confirms the "map" comment to be true. 
This did not prevent Anderson Cooper from referring to earlier portions 
of his interview after a commercial break and lying, "as he said 
earlier, he wants Israel wiped off the map."

Even if every media outlet in the world were to retract the 
mistranslated quote tomorrow, the major damage has already been done, 
providing the groundwork for the next phase of disinformation: complete 
character demonization. Ahmadinejad, we are told, is the next Hitler, a 
grave threat to world peace who wants to bring about a new Holocaust. 
According to some detractors, he not only wants to destroy Israel, but 
after that, he will nuke America, and then Europe! An October 2006 memo 
titled "Words of Hate: Iran's Escalating Threats" released by the 
powerful Israeli lobby group AIPAC opens with the warning, "Ahmadinejad 
and other top Iranian leaders are issuing increasingly belligerent 
statements threatening to destroy the United States, Europe and 
Israel." These claims not only fabricate an unsubstantiated threat, but 
assume far more power than he actually possesses. Alarmists would be 
better off monitoring the statements of the ultra-conservative Supreme 
Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, who holds the most power in Iran. 

As Iran's U.N. Press Officer, M.A. Mohammadi, complained to the 
Washington Post in a June 2006 letter:

"It is not amazing at all, the pick-and-choose approach of 
highlighting the misinterpreted remarks of Iranian President Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad in October and ignoring this month's remarks by Iran's 
supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that 'We have no problem with 
the world. We are not a threat whatsoever to the world, and the world 
knows it. We will never start a war. We have no intention of going to 
war with any state.'"

The Israeli government has milked every drop of the spurious quote to 
its supposed advantage. In her September 2006 address to the United 
Nations General Assembly, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni accused 
Iran of working to nuke Israel and bully the world. "They speak proudly 
and openly of their desire to 'wipe Israel off the map.' And now, by 
their actions, they pursue the weapons to achieve this objective to 
imperil the region and threaten the world." Addressing the threat in 
December, a fervent Prime Minister Ehud Olmert inadvertently disclosed 
that his country already possesses nuclear weapons: "We have never 
threatened any nation with annihilation. Iran, openly, explicitly and 
publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. Can you say that this is 
the same level, when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as 
America, France, Israel, Russia?" 

Media Irresponsibility:

On December 13, 2006, more than a year after The World Without Zionism 
conference, two leading Israeli newspapers, the Jerusalem Post and 
Haaretz, published reports of a renewed threat from Ahmadinejad. The 
Jerusalem Post's headline was Ahmadinejad: Israel will be 'wiped out', 
while Haaretz posted the title Ahmadinejad at Holocaust conference: 
Israel will 'soon be wiped out'. 

Where did they get their information? It turns out that both papers, 
like most American and western media, rely heavily on write ups by news 
wire services such as the Associated Press and Reuters as a source for 
their articles. Sure enough, their sources are in fact December 12th 
articles by Reuter's Paul Hughes [Iran president says Israel's days are 
numbered], and the AP's Ali Akbar Dareini [Iran President: Israel will 
be wiped out].    

The first five paragraphs of the Haaretz article, credited to "Haaretz 
Service and Agencies." are plagiarized almost 100% from the first five 
paragraphs of the Reuters piece. The only difference is that Haaretz 
changed "the Jewish state" to "Israel" in the second paragraph, 
otherwise they are identical.


The Jerusalem Post article by Herb Keinon pilfers from both the 
Reuters and AP stories. Like Haaretz, it uses the following Ahmadinejad 
quote without attribution: ["Just as the Soviet Union was wiped out and 
today does not exist, so will the Zionist regime soon be wiped out," he 
added]. Another passage apparently relies on an IRNA report:

"The Zionist regime will be wiped out soon the same way the Soviet 
Union was, and humanity will achieve freedom," Ahmadinejad said at 
Tuesday's meeting with the conference participants in his offices, 
according to Iran's official news agency, IRNA.  

He said elections should be held among "Jews, Christians and Muslims 
so the population of Palestine can select their government and destiny 
for themselves in a democratic manner."

Once again, the first sentence above was wholly plagiarized from the 
AP article. The second sentence was also the same, except "He called 
for elections" became "He said elections should be held..."

It gets more interesting. 

The quote used in the original AP article and copied in the Jerusalem 
Post article supposedly derives from the IRNA. If true, this can easily 
be checked.

There you will discover the actual IRNA quote was: 

"As the Soviet Union disappeared, the Zionist regime will also vanish 
and humanity will be liberated." 

Compare this to the alleged IRNA quote reported by the Associated 
Press:

"The Zionist regime will be wiped out soon the same way the Soviet 
Union was, and humanity will achieve freedom." 

In the IRNA's actual report, the Zionist regime will vanish just as 
the Soviet Union disappeared. Vanish. Disappear. In the dishonest AP 
version, the Zionist regime will be "wiped out." And how will it be 
wiped out? "The same way the Soviet Union was." Rather than imply a 
military threat or escalation in rhetoric, this reference to Russia 
actually validates the intended meaning of Ahmadinejad's previous 
misinterpreted anti-Zionist statements.

What has just been demonstrated is irrefutable proof of media 
manipulation and propaganda in action. The AP deliberately alters an 
IRNA quote to sound more threatening. The Israeli media not only 
repeats the fake quote but also steals the original authors' words. The 
unsuspecting public reads this, forms an opinion and supports 
unnecessary wars of aggression, presented as self defense, based on the 
misinformation. 

This scenario mirrors the kind of false claims that led to the illegal 
U.S. invasion of Iraq, a war now widely viewed as a catastrophic 
mistake. And yet the Bush administration and the compliant corporate 
media continue to marinate in propaganda and speculation about 
attacking Iraq's much larger and more formidable neighbor, Iran. Most 
of this rests on the unproven assumption that Iran is building nuclear 
weapons, and the lie that Iran has vowed to physically destroy Israel. 
Given its scope and potentially disastrous outcome, all this amounts to 
what is arguably the rumor of the century.

Iran's president has written two rather philosophical letters to 
America. In his first letter, he pointed out that "History shows us 
that oppressive and cruel governments do not survive." With this 
statement, Ahmadinejad has also projected the outcome of his own 
backwards regime, which will likewise "vanish from the page of time." 
 

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