Iranian lawmakers condemned an official who said he was willing to be “friends” with Israelis.
In a statement signed by 200 parliamentarians Wednesday, Iran’s president was urged to dismiss the official, Vice President for Tourism Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, calling his remarks an “unforgiveable mistake,” the New York Times reported.
On Sunday, Mashai repeated his comment that Iranians are “a friend of all people in the world, even Israelis and Americans.”
An ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mashai, whose daughter recently married the president’s son, emphasized that his country was opposed to Israel, not Jews.
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