Iran Media Uses Erroneous But Widely Circulated Holocaust Myth To Deny Authenticity Of The Holocaust

A Iranian news website sympathetic to the regime in Tehran published an article denying the Holocaust by pointing to an erroneous Holocaust story that claims the Nazis manufactured soap from their Jewish victims. For this website, Mashregh News, this dubious story was all the evidence needed to prove that the Holocaust is a myth and that it must be exposed as a historical falsity.

The article is an example of an often-used tactic by neo-Nazi groups and prominent Holocaust deniers. By their logic, if the soap story is a fabrication, consequently all historical facts concerning the authenticity of the Holocaust are nothing more than “Jewish myths” promoted by an “international Jewish organization.”

The current Iranian regime is no stranger to Holocaust denial. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for “experts” to investigate the veracity of the Holocaust. In December 2006, Iran played host to a Holocaust denial conference, “Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision,” which was attended by a diverse group of anti-Semites, including neo-Nazi, radical anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists, and Islamic fundamentalists.

One month prior, Iran’s Culture Ministry hosted a cartoon contest that sought entries deriding Jews and mocking the Holocaust. The winning cartoon was submitted by a Moroccan artist who depicted Israelis constructing a wall around the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, with the panels of the wall reflecting an image of the infamous railway leading to the gates of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Although Mashregh News is not directly affiliated with or run by the Iranian government, it nonetheless staunchly promotes the government’s ideology and features articles and interviews with top officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Senior Iranian Officials Endorse “Global March to Jerusalem”

The Asian wing of the Global March to Jerusalem (GMJ) arrived Saturday in Tehran, where a delegation from the convoy met with the president of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani, and the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Asia GMJ convoy began its journey to Iran in Indonesia on March 10.

According to Iranian news sources, Larijani welcomed the delegation of 120 convoy members and affirmed Iran’s supportive stance towards the Palestinian cause. “We as Iranians, cannot ignore the Palestinian issue,” he said, adding, “The Palestinian people have their legitimate rights; the West and America instead of recognizing these rights are trying to obliterate and ignore them.”

Iran’s controversial nuclear program was among the topics Larijani discussed with the delegation. Accusing “the enemies” of Iran of deliberately generating an international outcry over the program, he asserted, “The U.S. is wrong if it believes that it can still impose its domination over Muslim countries, because Muslims have been awakened and the recent revolutions are an example of this Islamic Awakening.” Larijani also rejected homosexuality as immoral and deviant, charging that “the world is heading towards the end because of them.” Challenging Western criticism of Iran’s human rights record, he added, “[The enemies] accuse us of not taking human rights into account, while they ignore human rights violations committed by their cronies in the [Gulf] region.”

On Sunday, GMJ members held a brief meeting with Ahmadinejad, where he described the GMJ as a “historic movement.”

Ahmadinejad Marks Anniversary of Revolution with Holocaust Denial

In front of a crowd of thousands gathered in Azadi Square in Tehran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once again launched a tirade against Israel and engaged in Holocaust denial and mockery.

It was during his customary speech on February 11 marking the start of a week of celebration in the Islamic Republic of Iran of the 33^rd anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution when Ahmadinejad said, “We destroyed the holiness of the Holocaust, which was invented by the West and the colonialists.”

In December 11-12, 2006, Iran hosted a Holocaust denial conference, “Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision,” in Tehran, which brought together a diverse group of anti-Semites, including white supremacists and neo-Nazis, radical anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists and Islamic extremists.

At Saturday’s event, Ahmadinejad also added that the West and imperialist power are responsible for the creation of the “Zionist entity,” an entity he claims that uses the Holocaust as an act of idol worship, invoking the Biblical story of the golden calf at Mount Sinai.

Furthermore, Ahmadinejad promised the crowds that the government would announce major advancements in Iran’s nuclear program in honor of the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. On Wednesday, the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, Iran’s central propaganda outlet, announced that Ahmadinejad oversaw the placement of 20% enriched nuclear fuel rods “into the heart of the reactor in Tehran.”