The Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound flotilla sounded the death knell of the “Zionist regime,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told an enthusiastic crowd at Istanbul's Abou Ayyoub Ansari Mosque on Tuesday.
He accused Israel of “unmatched crimes in the course of sixty some years of its history, that have been unprecedented in the history of mankind, the last of which has been invading the Gaza Peace Flotilla,” IRNA reported, saying the crowd responded with "Allahu akbar"
Ahmadinejad was in Turkey for the summit of a 20-member group of Asian countries – CICA – at which Turkey intended to propose a resolution condemning Israel's flotilla raid.
The Iranian president said the two nations were the “standard bearers of humanity and moralities” emphasizing, “everyone should know that the relations between the two countries are friendly, brotherly and deep rooted today and that the two countries would stand side by side till the end of the line,” IRNA reported.
On Monday Israeli officials said the two ships the Iranian Red Crescent had announced it would be sending to Gaza would not be allowed to reach their destination.
“If we didn’t let an Irish ship reach Gaza, we are certainly not going to let Iranian ships pass,” one diplomatic official said.
“The Iranian regime has called for Israel to be wiped off the map and has a proven track record of supplying dangerous weapons to Hamas and Hizbullah,” the official said. “Obviously, any shipment from Iran to Gaza would be a major concern.”