BICOM

In a highly anti-Semitic speech, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi condemned the “Zionists” and the teachings of the Talmud for “inciting global drug trade and addiction in a bid to annihilate non-Jewish communities,” the semi-official Iranian news agency FARS reported.

Rahimi, who spoke during a ceremony marking International Day against Drug Abuse held in Tehran on Tuesday, said  “The Islamic Republic of Iran will pay for anybody who can research and find one single Zionist who is an addict. They do not exist. This is the proof of their involvement in drugs trade.” He went on to blame “Zionists and Jews” for involvement in other alleged conspiracies, including the Russian Revolution and ordering the killing of black babies.

Rahimi continued to say that the Talmud teaches Jews to think that “God has created the world so that all other nations can serve them . . .  But there is a difference between Jews who honestly follow the prophet Moses and those (who are) the main elements of the international drugs trade.”

According to a New York Times report, European diplomats attending the ceremony were stunned at the exceptionally blunt accusations – even from an Iranian politician. “This was definitely one of the worst speeches I have heard in my life. My gut reaction was: Why are we supporting any cooperation with these people?” a European diplomat told the New York Times. The newspaper’s sources added that even Iranian participants “privately wondered at their government’s motive for allowing such a speech.”

“The Anti-Defamation League called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “to speak out and to make clear that these views are not only objectionable, but repugnant to the entire international community.”