Khamenei reiterates statements made by Ahmadinejad on Friday, which the international community condemned

Israel is a “cancerous tumor” and is the biggest problem facing the Muslim world, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Sunday, immediately after the international community condemned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for making similar comments.

“The great powers have dominated the destiny of the Islamic countries for years and… installed the Zionist cancerous tumour in the heart of the Islamic world,” semi-official Iranian IRNA news agency quoted Khamenei saying in an Eid al-Fitr speech marking the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan.

“Many of the problems facing the Muslim world are due to the existence of the Zionist regime,” he charged.

Khamenei’s comments on Sunday came two days after Ahmadinejad marked al-Quds day on Friday by calling for the elimination of the “insult to all humanity” that is Israel, and said that its very existence is a crime against humanity.

Iranian news agency Press TV provided an English translator for Khamenei’s remarks, but the translator made no mention of the “Zionist tumor.”

Attacking the US and Israel, he said that Iran should know that the United States and the Zionist regime are the “enemies of the Islamic [nation] and in fact they are the hegemonic powers that are the enemies of the Islamic [people].”

Noting that the two nations “do not pity the Islamic [people]” and that they are both trying to cause “disruptions”, he prayed, “May God humiliate the enemies of the Islamic [people].”

Khamenei commended Muslim support for the “people of Palestine,” saying that this year other nations were more coordinated with the Iranian people than in previous years and that in some countries the “domination of the remnants of the tyrannical regimes” stopped people from showing their support for “Palestine,” calling it a “current that will continue.”

Perhaps referring to covert efforts to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program, Khamenei said the Iran’s “enemies” make use of “more intricate tactics day by day and they are making use of their utmost efforts.” Despite their attempts, he said, “They have failed to overcome and they will not be able to actually overcome the Islamic [people].” (© 2012 THE TIMES OF ISRAEL 08/19/12)