‘Butcher of Tehran’ must be denied platform at UN, Israel urges

Israel’s envoy called on UN chief Antonio Guterres to “deny that denier a world stage to spread antisemitism and hatred.”

By Adina Katz, World Israel News

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan is urging the world body to deny Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi an opportunity to address the 77th session of the General Assembly.

Raisi left for New York on Monday.

On Sunday night, just ahead of his trip, CBS aired his first-ever interview with a Western reporter on 60 Minutes, during which he cast doubt on the Holocaust.

Asked directly whether he believed it happened and that six million Jews were killed, he told journalist Lesley Stahl, “Historical events should be investigated by researchers and historians. There are some signs that it happened. If so, they should allow it to be investigated and researched.”

The reporter then asked, “So you’re not sure, I’m getting that you’re not sure. What about Israel’s right to exist”?

To which he responded by slamming the “false regime,” meaning Israel, and U.S. support for Israel, while refusing to acknowledge that the Holocaust happened and that six million Jews were murdered.

“Shocking to hear Iranian President Raisi’s remarks calling into question whether the Holocaust happened. I call on @antonioguterres to DENY THAT DENIER a world stage to spread antisemitism and hatred,” Erdan tweeted.

“The UN will reach a new low if they give the Butcher of Tehran a platform,” he added.

Raisi, a hardline judiciary chief, has been sanctioned by Washington for his involvement in the systematic mass execution of thousands of political prisoners over a five-month period in 1988, earning the moniker, “The Butcher of Tehran.”

Last year, members of the European Parliament sent a letter to European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressing strong disapproval over the decision to send a top EU representative to Tehran to attend Raisi’s inauguration as president.