Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Israel Won’t Exist in 25 Years

[oberliner]

Source: NY Times

TEHRAN — Iran’s supreme leader predicted Wednesday that Israel would not exist in 25 years, and ruled out any new negotiations with the “Satan,” the United States, beyond the recently completed nuclear accord.

In remarks published Wednesday on his personal website and in posts on Twitter, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, responded to what he said were claims that Israel would be safe for that period under the nuclear agreement reached in July.

“After nuclear negotiations, the Zionist regime said that they will not be worried about Iran in the next 25 years,” Ayatollah Khamenei wrote. “I am telling you, first, you will not be around in 25 years’ time, and God willing, there will be no Zionist regime in 25 years. Second, during this period, the spirit of fighting, heroism and jihad will keep you worried every moment.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/10/world/middleeast/iran-ayatollah-khamenei-israel-will-not-exist.html

[msongs]

1. this guy is about 76, he won't be around to see anything much longer. Iranians will be glad to see

him gone I suspect

[oberliner]

3. Will the next Supreme Leader be different in this regard?

It seems hard to believe.

[mountain grammy]

8. We can always hope

the next generation is saner..same could be said of many countries.

[MADem]

12. That asshole has been on his deathbed for years (cancer, IIRC).

He gets very good care.

His replacement will be chosen by the Guardians. I think they will go a little "looser." "Loose" will still be Fundy-Tight compared to the way the country was forty years ago.

I also think they will tighten up on their military discipline, war games, etc.

[6chars]

2. This is why the deal is so good.

Because it is based on don't trust but verify. Wonder why Israelis just don't get it?

Actually, it is hard to find precedent in history for such sustained genocidal language from a state, and no other example of such a state being welcomed into the family of nations. Since the deal, Iran has ratcheted up its abhorrent threats and incitement. But they are not being called on it for all practical purposes. Tacit approval. No one wants to jeapordize the new financial opportunities, our new enforcer in the middle east, and, I guess, our bidding friendship. Hey, we signed a deal, right?

[christx30]

4. Yet, if Israel were to destroy Iram's nuclear

sites, they would considered to be the bad guys. Classic bully behavior. Threaten, then act the victim when attacked.

[6chars]

9. Deal or no deal, they should be called out as barbarians

By the p4 (I don't expect anything from china and Russia). Call them up completely. If they cancel the deal because they can't stand to not threaten genocide, then it's on them. I think they would not cancel, but are just doing this because they can.

By the wy, the message to Israel of the west's silence in the face of this insanity is that no one has israels back, and Israel had better be prepared to fight for its life. Those who are in favor of the deal should be the loudest in condemning the Iranian government's hate speech and threats. Go for it.

And just to clarify, the Iranian people are NOT barbarians -- far from it, but their (in no way freely elected) government is outside any norms of civilized behavior.

[leftynyc]

42. That's an excellent point

Can't really blame Israel for thinking nobody has its back when even this kind of talk is barely acknowledged even on a board of supposed liberals. As you said, those that favor this deal should be shouting the loudest condemnation. But we both know that wont happen here.

[Snow Leopard]

61. You said it

If any western leader talks like this the outrage would be deafening.

[mccallen]

22. Even the ex-Mossad leaders

are endorsing the Iranian deal...

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. If I understand him correctly, he may be referring to the horrific

Policies being pushed by Bibi against those who live in the 17,000 homes that he ordered razed.

[oberliner]

6. You aren't understanding him correctly

He is referring to Israel - which he only ever calls "The Zionist Regime" because they don't acknowledge the existence of Israel as an actual country.

[7962]

7. It just never stops, does it? I just dont get it.....

[6chars]

10. Iran is trying to goad Israel into attacking

They think this will make them the undisputed leaders of the Muslim world. Consistent with other current Iranian actions not connected to israel, and an old ploy.

[geek tragedy]

19. Ehud Barak is eager to oblige them. nt

[oberliner]

25. Ehud Barak is not in the Israeli government

He is retired from politics.

[geek tragedy]

26. Herzog seems to be following the same path. nt

[MADem]

13. The Great Shatan, though--that's us. It's a noxious little nick name. nt

[potone]

50. Oh, I don't know, I've kind of gotten to like it.

They call Russia the Little Satan. At least we rank higher than them. There is something I find comforting about that epithet in this time when the whole Mideast is on fire, millions of people have had to flee their homes, untold thousands of people have died, and it is clear that we don't know what to do about Syria; it suggests that we actually know what we're doing and have a workable plan.

[MADem]

52. Persians are a bit ... hyperbolic. They LOVE language, the flowerier, the better.

They also like extremes for dramatic effect. In a country where illiteracy used to be the norm, they liked to be as OBVIOUS as possible to make the point. Even as literacy improved (and they're better than most of their neighbors), that tendency has not gone away. Drama wins!

I think Americans find it more off-putting than they do. It's such an odd term...well, it used to be, before South Park, I guess.

The term predates the current mess in the ME. Ayatullah Khomeini was using it from Iraq, before he even went to Paris, never mind before he returned home on his Air France jet.

[potone]

53. Oh, I know there is nothing new about it.

That's part of why I like it. I remember the Iranian revolution, and in this post-9/11 world in which alliances in the Mideast are constantly shifting, I find it perversely reassuring that we are still viewed the same way by one country. And I am familiar with Iranian rhetoric; I have Iranian friends.
As to the more important issue of Israel's security, it seems to me that the Iranian government is always careful to say that Israel will disappear; not that they will destroy Israel. I think that distinction is important. It fits the rhetoric of a great Muslim uprising against Israel. Of course that won't happen, in part because the Arabs are divided along religious and political lines.

[MADem]

54. I saw that event up close and personal.

Iranians actually LOVE Americans. The government doesn't, but the general population, at least the sophisticated city-dwellers, are delighted with us. Why not? So many relatives in Teherangeles and TexIran and New Teheran York!! Many of them even like our Great Shatan Leader Barack! I'll bet a lot of 'em are hoping that it will become easier to travel--right now it's a pain in the butt, to go in and get out.

[potone]

62. Nice that somebody still loves us!

We've alienated so many people around the world.

[MADem]

65. The thing is, so many of "them" are also "us."

People love the idea that you can go to a country and BECOME one of them--they think it is cool, a real "We are the world" type thing. And there aren't that many countries where this is the case, even the countries that are becoming more multicultural have that attitude that the "different looking" people are (fill in nationality) by way of (fill in another country or region)--like they aren't "really" part of the club. Despite our troubles and occasional stumbles, the truth is that an American looks like anyone you can find in the world.

We're lucky that we are such a young nation; we don't see any crime in change, and we're not afraid to reinvent ourselves.

[leftynyc]

43. He specifically said

the Zionist entity (he wont even call it Israel) no longer existing. How on earth do you think he's talking about homes being razed? If I understand YOU correctly, it sounds like you're being willfully obtuse.

[Throd]

47. You aren't understanding him correctly.

He wants Israel to no longer exist. He says so quite plainly. Why parse his words?

[geek tragedy]

11. If Israel continues expanding settlements and the occupation, he'll be right.

If Israel pursues the one-state solution, either de facto or de jure, then the ultimate result will be a binational state that is majority Arab, which will mean the end of Zionism. And the erasure of the state we know today as Israel.

That's a pretty straightforward analysis--it seems the most likely scenario given the only alternative-the two-state solution, is deader than Andy Breitbart.

Iran doesn't need nukes for that to happen. It just needs Israel to keep on keeping on.

[Lychee2]

14. Not if Palestinians continue to leave their homeland.

Millions have already left for other countries in the Middle East. That's been Israeli strategy all along, hasn't it? To make life so unpleasant that the Palestinians will leave?

[geek tragedy]

16. A lot more are being born than are leaving.

[oberliner]

17. About the same number move there as move away

About 5-7 thousand emigrate and immigrate every year.

[Lychee2]

21. Gotta make life more unpleasant for them.

What other solution is there for Eretz Ysrael? And life is getting more and more impossible on the West Bank, what with all the new settlements and all the special Israeli-only highways connecting them, the Palestinian population is being broken up into shrinking islands, like Bantustans.

[oberliner]

24. $1B Palestinian New Town Finally Comes to Life

It's the biggest Palestinian construction project ever. And after years delays, families have finally begun moving in. Rawabi, some 30 kilometres north of Jerusalem in the Israeli-controlled West Bank, is costing more than a billion dollars to build.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-09-08/-1b-palestinian-new-town-finally-comes-to-life

[geek tragedy]

28. The Israelis are more than content to cage the Palestinians

like cattle in pens.

[Archae]

30. Since Hamas is like a spider monkey with a nail gun...

Not to mention the rest of the radical Palestinian groups, can you blame them?

[geek tragedy]

31. Yes, because apartheid is wrong and no civilized person excuses it. nt

[7962]

45. Now THATS a helluva analogy! nt

[Archae]

46. I got it from a comic strip, describing a character in it.

The character is rather prone to creating chaos.

("Sam," in the Sci-Fi comic strip "Freefall.&quot

[oberliner]

15. You have no idea what you are talking about

The Supreme leader speaks of "fighting, heroism, and jihad".

[geek tragedy]

18. Are you familiar with the concept of jihad-as Muslims use

the term as opposed to how Bill Kristol uses it?

He also says Iran will never possess a nuclear weapon. Picking and choosing which statements to believe?

[oberliner]

20. Absolutely

Are you familiar with the Supreme Leader's other remarks about the "Zionist Entity" and how best to bring about its demise?

I did not make any comment regarding nuclear weapons.

[geek tragedy]

27. Khameini is uttering impotent rants.

A non-nuclear Iran is not an existential threat to Israel. The occupation is an existential threat to Israel.

If the Israelis want to protect Israel, they need to reform their own behavior rather than worrying about a country with zero ability to project military power inside Israel's borders.

[7962]

48. Khameni is the Supreme Leader of Iran. His words carry weight.

Dont know how you dont realize that

[geek tragedy]

49. His words don't carry bombs nt

[7962]

55. Jeeze that doesnt even make any sense...

[christx30]

57. Well, it's a good thing that no one could be inspired

by those words and carry out a lone wolf attack. I'm sure his followers are as passionate as Trump's.

[geek tragedy]

58. If Iran were a trustworthy, responsible actor the nuke deal would not be necessary. nt

[christx30]

63. If they were trustworthy,

they wouldn't be threatening our allies or calling us the Great Satan. So if we want to know why people are against the nuke deal, look there. Easier to trust someone when they don't think you're evil.

[geek tragedy]

64. A rather illogical argument

The inspection regime is there precisely because we don't trust them. What's odd is saying, we don't trust them so we oppose the deal with inspections and monitoring and them dramatically reducing their enriched uranium and centrifuges

[Recursion]

40. Pretty much. We're locked in to one state now, which means no more Israel

People make choices, and those have consequences. I will personally be surprised if there is an explicitly Jewish state in the Levant in 25 years.

Some people read that and think that that means millions of Israelis will die; I don't really think that. How the dissolution of the state happens is a choice left up to a lot of people. The dissolution of Apartheid South Africa did not involve white South Africans being slaughtered (even though that was what Mandela used to advocate). The simple arithmetic of demographics is pretty hard to argue with here.

[herding cats]

23. He's even worse (if that's possible) than our Tea Party nuts in the USA.

Luckily there are saner people in power than these extremist.

[happyslug]

29. Here is the actual Twitter account:

https://twitter.com/khamenei_ir?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

[ericson00]

32. I wish we knew the true reason why Iran and its leaders care so much

about the Israel/Palestinians conflict, which affects Iran in zero ways. Its not like Israel has ever, or will ever destroy Muslim holy sites. Even for as bad as the Palestinians have it (due to self-inflicted things), there are many more opposed people in the world who happen to be Muslims in many other places under far worse conditions.

[cheapdate]

34. Probably for many of the same reasons we do, I would expect.

Religious reasons are a big factor. There are places in Israel that are holy sites for Christians and Muslims. Both religions have demonstrated time and time again that they're willing to fight for control of those places.

But there are other reasons as well. Reasons that we both share, the United States and Iran, for why we "care so much" about the land and people of Israel and Palestine. Both countries have deep ties there -- cultural, historical, familial, institutional, and religious ties.

[6chars]

44. It is part of the Islamic republic since its founding

Supreme leader Khamenei (and Khomeni before him) quotes the Koran a lot to explain why there can be no Jewish state and those Jews who are not killed should be subjugated. It is a really deep anti semitism within the Islamic junta of Iran. Beyond that, their penultimate goal is to spread their power over the entire Muslim world, and by being the loudest and most ciolent anti Israel and anti Semitic voice, they hope to gain credibility as leaders even of Sunni Muslims, like Khadafi and Nasser previously. Finally, like any Muslim dictatorship, they find that Israel hate is an effective way to distract citizens from their own corruption and oppression.

[MADem]

59. Because Iran has always wanted to exercise hegemony across

the Middle East to the Mediterranean--it's why they poured so much money and time and training into Hizb'allah in Lebanon. Their adventures in the region have to do with their desire to 'set the table.' Israel doesn't think this is a good idea and they aren't going to make this goal easy for them.

The Persians push back by advocating support for Palestine for a couple of reasons--first, they want to annoy the Israelis for mucking about in their affairs, and second, they want to make all the Arabs in the region regard them as "in solidarity" with them. See, Persians are NOT Arabs, they don't speak Arabic, they speak Farsi, and their culture is different from Arab culture. Their language is Indo-European, their food has elements culled from Arabia to India and points beyond, and they are not "the same" as their neighbors--neither Arab, nor Turk. They are a very unique culture.


The Persians also believe in their shi'a souls that they-not KSA-are the rightful and appropriate people to be guardians of the Holy Places. KSA has more money and buys more friends in the region, so I don't see that happening, but they like to mention that every now and again. It does cause tension at times.

Israel is always up in Iran's grill. Mossad had been in there for as long as I've been aware of them--they're pretty slick, too. They were in situ when Shah was in power, and regime change didn't slow them down one bit. It annoys the Persians because their guys are really, really good--undetectable, pretty much. They can fit right in anywhere--and I'd bet a paycheck they do, on a regular basis.

[cheapdate]

33. That's his and most of country's perspective on the matter.

Israel isn't their ally and isn't their friend and vice versa. Iran's sympathies are with the Palestinians and not the Israelis. Fair enough. We say the same practically the same kind of shit about countries we don't like.

[PSPS]

35. I think they said that 25 years ago too.

[villager]

36. He's Iranian Likud, Iranian GOP.

A blindered, bitter fundamentalist, who -- in the words of Alfred the Butler -- would "rather see the world burn," than change any of their rigid, clung-to beliefs.

It's his ilk that won't survive. Either through evolution, or because they finally succeed in taking the rest of us down with them.

[davidpdx]

37. As I've always said

there are right wing fundies everywhere in the world.

[LeftOfWest]

38. okay n/t.

[Recursion]

39. As an explicitly Jewish state? Probably not, is my guess.

Demographics being what they are.

[Behind the Aegis]

41. I am sure it is his hope, not unlike that of others who aren't quite as honestly open about it.

One "Zionist regime" is one too many for most people, and they are not talking about the government.

[randys1]

51. Obama reaches monumental deal, unthinkable under W, the ass. Kerry and Obama achieve

TREMENDOUS success and some folks just HATE that.



(He said it for the very reason that some will want to talk about it, to cause a disruption)

[Xithras]

56. Iran and Israel have one thing in common.

Two great nations full of friendly and welcoming people, governed by corrupt assholes who beat on their holy books and cite comments by their imaginary sky friends to justify the most heinous of crimes against their fellow men.

[GOLGO 13]

60. Yeah, uh-huh. How long has these tards been "talking" this death to Israel memo?

Israel will see him put into the ground first.

[LeftishBrit]

66. Khameini is unlikely to exist in 25 years, given that he would be over 100 by then.

The extremists on both sides dislike the deal; clearly Khameini is not happy with it. But here's to this being the beginning of a better future!

[oberliner]

67. Will the next Supreme Leader be any better?

Hey, maybe they can pick a woman next time!