Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stood firm on his anti-Israeli remarks on Sunday, saying these remarks showed nothing different from Iran's previous stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"There was nothing new, and I just meant Islamic countries should not recognize a regime of terrorist nature," Ahmadinejad said when addressing a militia rally.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying that Ahmadinejad's comments were used by Israel to launch a propaganda campaign against Iran.

"The Zionists and their allies played unskillfully this time, making it clear that their allegations against Iran's nuclear programs emanate from Iran's objection to Israel's systematic killing of defenseless Palestinians," Asefi said.

Iran regarded the Israeli government as illegitimate and had the right not to recognize it, Asefi added.

Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, Iran's Majlis (parliament) speaker, said reactions of the West to Ahmadinejad's remarks would, contradictory to their original intention, help spread anti- Israeli ideology.

However, Adel stressed that the Jews are not the problem for Iran or Muslims, since Muslims and Jews had been living in peaceful coexistence for a long time in the past.

On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad said Israel should be wiped off the map, which triggered condemnation from the European Union, the United States, Russia and some other countries.

Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan said on Thursday that he was dismayed by Ahmadinejad's words, and the UN Security Council on Friday issued a statement condemning Ahmadinejad's anti-Israeli comments.

Ahmadinejad on Friday defended his remarks as just and right, saying they were "the same as those of the Iranian nation."

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that it will not attack Israel but refused to accept the UN statement.

Source: Xinhua