TEL AVIV – Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day by posting a video on his website questioning the reality of the Holocaust, the U.S. and Europe’s supposed suppression of freedom of speech for Holocaust deniers, and their support of the “fake Zionist regime.”
The three-minute clip, titled “Are the Dark Ages Over?” and translated by MEMRI, also features images of leading European Holocaust deniers including Roger Garaudy, Robert Faurisson, and David Irving, and highlights the alleged persecution of them by Western authorities.
“No one in European countries dares to speak about the Holocaust, while it is not clear whether the core of this matter is a reality or not,” Khamenei said.
He added, “Even if it is a reality, it is not clear how it happened. Speaking about the Holocaust and expressing doubts about it is considered to be a great sin. If someone does this, they stop, arrest, imprison, and sue him. This is while they claim to be the supporters of freedom.”
Khamenei then attacked the West for backing Israel.
“Who assists the fake Zionist regime? It is western powers – headed by America – that are doing so. This is while they say in their slogans that they are opposed to terrorism and ISIS.<
“They are lying. They say things which are not true. This is ignorance,” he added.
The Supreme Leader ends with a call to Muslims to come together and fight Israel and its Western supporters, since those are the countries perpetrating the real ignorance, or “Jahiliyya” – a reference to the era of ignorance that preceded the advent of Islam.
“You dear brothers, dear people of Iran, Muslims in the great Islamic Ummah [nation], and officials in different countries, should know that we can stand up against the Ignorance,” Khamenei said.