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Iran calls for destruction of Israel

TEHRAN, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Iran is facing widespread condemnation after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel should be "wiped off the map."

Ahmadinejad told thousands of students Wednesday that a new wave of confrontation in Palestine and growing turmoil in the Islamic world would wipe Israel away in no time, Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

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Speaking at a conference called "World without Zionism" held at the Interior Ministry, the president said, "God willing ... we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism."

The United States and its allies said Iran was showing its true colors.

"I think we are starting to see some true views of this regime, which underscores our concern and the international community's concerns about Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, CNN reported.

The British Foreign Office issued a statement saying the Iranian president's comments were "deeply disturbing and sickening."

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Dan Gillerman called on the United Nations to take action, saying, "Iran is no longer just a threat to Israel. Iran is a global threat, and the international community must act against the leader of a country who calls for the destruction of another member state of the United Nations."

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