[R-G] "Iran Is Friends with the American and Israeli People" . . . But Not If Ali Larijani Were in Charge

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

<http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1010930.html>
Iran's VP told to clarify pro-Israel comments
By DPA

TEHRAN - Iranian Vice President Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei has been
summoned by parliament for having made pro-Israeli comments, ISNA news
agency reported yesterday.

The cultural commission of the parliament has called for a special
session today with Rahim-Mashaei, where he will reply to "questions,
ambiguities and criticism" by the deputies over the comments.

The vice president, who is in charge of cultural heritage and tourism,
said that Iran would be friends with both the Israeli and American
people, despite political problems with the two countries. He
emphasized this position again on Monday.

Reacting to Rahim-Mashaei's comments, parliament speaker Ali Larijani
on Monday reiterated that Iran was no friend of the Israelis.

The reaction by the parliament and Larijani was surprising, as the
vice-president's remarks are in line with the stance of Iran's Islamic
system, which distinguishes peoples from governments, including
political arch-foes Israel and the United States.

Even President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has earned himself
international notoriety for his frequent verbal assaults on Israel,
has several times stressed that he was addressing the Israeli
administration and not the Jews, and hence rejected charges of being
anti-Semitic.

<http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1218104261585&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull>
'Iranians believe in peace and love'
Aug. 11, 2008
jpost.com staff and ap , THE JERUSALEM POST

Iranian Vice President Esfandiar Rahim Mashai said Monday that he
would not retract his recent statements that the Iranian people were
fond of Israelis and Americans.

Speaking to reporters in Teheran, Mashai said that he was proud of his
remarks and did not regret making them since "the Iranians believe in
peace and love between people."

"We are friends of all of humanity. There is no difference at all
between the Iranians and Americans, even the Israelis are our
friends," he said.

Mashai stressed, however, that his comments did not constitute
recognition of Israel's legitimacy.

On July 20, Mashai said that Iran was "friends with the Israeli people
and described United States as "one of the best nations in the world."

"Today, Iran is friends with the American and Israeli people. No
nation in the world is our enemy, this is an honor," he said on the
sidelines of a tourism congress in Teheran.

"Of course we have enemies and the most unfair hostilities are
committed against the Iranian people," he said. "We regard the
American people as one of the best nations in the world."

Mashai is in charge of Iranian tourism and historical sites.

He is said to be extremely close to Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad and earlier this year, his daughter married Ahmadinejad's
son.

<http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iPRzUXEsINWZvXyoO64_K3D6RqQA>
We're no friends of Israelis: Iran parliament speaker

1 day ago

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said on Monday
Iran is no friends of the Israelis, reacting to remarks to the
contrary by an aide of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Fars news
agency reported.

"We are not friends with the Israeli people and Iran has a logic which
is what the (supreme) leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) has said,"
Larijani was quoted as saying.

Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, a deputy of Ahmadinejad, has insisted that
Iran is "friends with the Israeli people."

Rahim Mashaie first made statements to this effect in July. More
recent remarks reaffirming his position in unequivocal terms were
printed in several local newspapers on Monday.

"I had said this before that we do not have any hostility against the
Israeli people and I still say the same thing proudly," Rahim Mashaie
was quoted as saying by Kargozaran newspaper.

"Not all the Israeli people are wearing (military) boots on the
street," added Rahim Mashaie, vice president in charge of tourism.

Rahim Mashaie's initial comment raised controversy among Iran's
conservatives, as he is one of Ahmadinejad's closest confidants.

The president has earned international notoriety for his frequent
verbal assaults against Israel, which he has described as a "stinking
corpse" and has predicted is doomed to disappear.

Ahmadinejad has repeatedly said that Iran is ready to talk to all
countries except the "Zionist regime" -- Tehran's usual term for
Israel.

The Islamic republic has repeatedly vowed never to recognise Israel,
which was an ally of pro-US shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ousted by the
1979 Islamic revolution.

The animosity has spilled over to the Beijing Olympics, where Iranian
swimmer Mohammad Alirezaei failed to appear for the men's 100m
breaststroke heats on Saturday, apparently because an Israeli was also
racing.

Alirezaei's lane one was empty when the field left the starting
blocks. Israel's Tom Beeri, starting in lane seven, finished fourth.

International Olympic Committee spokeswoman Giselle Davies said if it
was shown that the Iranian had deliberately pulled out, "the IOC would
take it seriously."

<http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=64286&sectionid=351020101>
'No Iran official will recognize Israel'
Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:53:33

Iran's Vice President for Tourism and Cultural Heritage says no
Iranian government official would ever acknowledge the Zionist regime.

"It is preposterous to assume that any Iranian official would
acknowledge the Zionist regime," Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaie said in
response to comments on his controversial remarks on Sunday.

"We oppose the Zionist regime but we have no problem with the people
residing in the occupied lands," Rahim-Mashaie was quoted by Fars News
Agency as saying.

The Iranian deputy added that 'the American nation is one of the best
nations of the world' but confirmed that the Islamic Republic is not
on good terms with the government of the United States.

Rahim-Mashaie said he had been made aware that certain parties would
misinterpret his earlier remarks, adding that the US and Israel are
pursuing a policy to portray President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a
warmonger

"This is while Mr. Ahmadinejad follows a reasonable stance," said the
Iranian official.

Rahim-Mashaie said that the Islamic Republic would not wage war on any
country and that the Iranian government adhered to a doctrine of
resistance.

He went on to warn the US and Israel against taking hostile measures
against Iran, saying that 'they would not dare attack Iran.'

<http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iYZEkmJZWId7rctZtWEo8Kjvwi0A>
'Iran is friends with Israeli people': Ahmadinejad aide

Jul 20, 2008

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran is "friends with the Israeli people", a deputy of
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, in stark contrast to Tehran's
usual verbal assaults against the Jewish state, local media reported
on Sunday.

Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, vice president in charge of tourism and one
of Ahmadinejad's closest confidants, also described the people of
Iran's arch-enemy the United States as "one of the best nations in the
world".

"Today, Iran is friends with the American and Israeli people. No
nation in the world is our enemy, this is an honour," Rahim Mashaie
said, according to the Fars news agency and Etemad newspaper.

"Of course we have enemies and the most unfair hostilities are
committed against the Iranian people," he said on the sidelines of a
tourism congress in Tehran.

"We regard the American people as one of the best nations in the world."

Ahmadinejad has earned international notoriety for his frequent verbal
assaults against Israel, which he has described as a "stinking corpse"
and predicted is doomed to disappear.

Rahim Mashaie is one of the figures closest to the president in the
Iranian government. This was emphasised earlier this year when his
daughter married Ahmadinejad's son.

Ahmadinejad has repeatedly said that Iran is ready to talk to all
countries except the "Zionist regime", Tehran's usual description for
Israel.

"An unexpected statement: Mashaie talks about friendship with the
people of Israel?!" was the headline on the conservative Tabnak news
website.

The website said it was all the more surprising he had made the
comment when much of Ahmadinejad's popularity in the Arab world stems
from his hostility towards Israel and the United States.

This is not the first time Rahim Mashaie has been involved in
controversy. He was sharply criticised by MPs for allegedly watching a
Turkish woman dance while at a tourism congress in Turkey.

The Islamic republic has repeatedly vowed never to recognise Israel,
which was an ally of pro-US shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ousted by the
1979 Islamic revolution.