The Iranian delegation to the United Nations issued a scathing denunciation yesterday of the plan proposed by Crown Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia last August. The statement, by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, declared: “It is a disgrace for Arabs who rule because of their own interests to accept this plan. If all of us die, it is better than to be displaced at the hands of Zionists and Americans.”
Although the Fahd plan no more than implied acceptance of Israel by the Arab world if it withdraws from all occupied Arab territories, including East Jerusalem, and allows the establishment of a Palestinian state, the Iranian statement asserted that “One of the points of the plan is that Israel should be recognized.” The statement added, “If all the points were positive, this point in itself would be enough to negate the whole plan.”
The Iranian statement interpreted “peace with Israel” as meaning “that should any country or man decide to do anything against these plunderers, then all Moslems in the region must attack other Moslems to preserve Israel.”
According to the Iranians, even if Israel would withdraw from some of the land it occupies it “can keep what it got as if it belongs to itself. The plan provides that the rest of the land will remain under the sovereignty of Israel. It seeks the domination of Israel over the Arab and Islamic armies. “The statement concluded with a warning to “the Moslem people that if this plan is accepted, tomorrow Israel will annex even Mecca and Medina.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.