The Iranian president's speech to the United Nations attacking "Zionist murderers" was reminiscent of one the most notorious anti-Semitic tracts in history, Israel's president said on Tuesday. In his address, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the U.N. General Assembly that a few "deceitful" Zionists were manipulating Americans and Europeans and controlled the world's financial and monetary systems.
"This is the first time in the history of the United Nations that the head of a state is appearing openly and publicly with the ugly and dark accusations of the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion,'" Israeli President Shimon Peres said after the Iranian leader's speech.
"It never took place in this building or in the United Nations," Peres said, adding that it recalled the "the darkest accusations in an air of hatred" and anti-Semitism.
He reiterated Israel's position that Iran has become a "center of terror" with its support for Hamas and Hizbullah in Lebanon.
