On Friday, a hard-line Iranian cleric called for the deaths of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and United States President George W. Bush.
"If it be through the death of Sharon or the death of Bush, please brighten-up our hearts, O Lord," Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati told thousands of worshippers assembled at the Tehran University campus in a sermon broadcast on state radio, Reuters reported.
The statements delivered by the cleric, who heads the powerful Guardian Council, emphasized Iran's tense relations with its arch-enemies, namely, Israel and the United States.
Jannati is known for his fiery rhetoric during Friday prayer sermons that are often interrupted by chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel".
Bush has signaled Iran, along with Iraq and North Korea, as part of an "axis of evil" bent on supporting terrorism and acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Iran has firmly rejected both charges. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
