Ahmadinejad - Iran ready to destroy Israel

CAIRO, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The Iranian people are ready to destroy Israel, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on the sidelines of the Islamic summit in Cairo.

"The Iranian people are ready to march on Israel to destroy it if it launches an attack adventure against Iran. The Zionists hope to attack Iran but they are afraid of the Iranian reaction and the consequences of such an attack. Our forces can deter any aggressor and make them pay," Ynetnews.com quoted the official Egyptian news agency MENA saying.

Also attending the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit in Cairo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas thanked the Iranian president for supporting the Palestinian people.

"Iranian brothers have always been beside the oppressed Palestinian nation in all conditions and the Palestinian nation praises such support," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Abbas saying while meeting the Iranian president.

Despite the crippling sanctions imposed on Iran by the West, Ahmadinejad offered to assist the ailing Egyptian economy.

"The Muslim world is facing new and pressing challenges," Ahram Online quoted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi saying at the opening of the OIC ceremony in Cairo. Egypt is committed to the Palestinian people's struggle. Morsi congratulated the Palestinians on their upgraded status at the United Nations and said there would be no peace as long as the Palestinians are deprived of their rights.