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Iranian President Strives To Better His Image

Kaysie Ellingson |
September 25, 2013 | 1:30 p.m. PDT

Executive Producer

 

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Creative Commons
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani acknowledged the crimes against Jewish people during the Holocaust on Wednesday after facing questions regarding his predecessor's repeated denial of the events. 

Last week, in Tehran, Rouhani dodged questions asked by NBC News' Ann Curry regarding Mahmoud Ahmadinjead's refusal to acknowledge that the Holocaust actually happened. His response was that he was "a politician and not a historian." 

World News reported that "Now in New York for the United National General Assembly, Rouhani has been striving to present himself as a moderate in the hopes of jump-starting talks on his country's nuclear program and getting economic sanctions rolled back." 

When asked again about the existence of the Holocaust, he acknowledged much more than his predecessor had, yet remained aloof when it came to details of the massacre. 

WATCH: Interview with President Hassan Rouhani regarding President Obama and the Holocaust

"The massacre by the Nazis was condemnable. We never want to sit by side with the Nazies," he said. "They committed a crime against Jews -- which is a crime against Christians, against Muslims, against all of humanity." He continued saying, "As to the scale of the massacres, and the numbers that my predecessor mentions, let's leave that to the historians." 

Although this declaration is considered a large step in the right direction, Iranian-American Jewish leaders remain dissatisfied with his previous remarks that he was not a historian. According to the Daily News, they declined to meet with the new leader.

 



 

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