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Iran's President Criticizes Arab Silence On Gaza


Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad
TEHRAN (Reuters) -- Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, in a stinging rebuke to Arab leaders, has said some of them were standing back in silence and even supporting Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Iran has accused some Arab states of not doing enough to stop Israel's assault, but Ahmadinejad went beyond past criticism in a letter to Saudi King Abdullah published a day after the monarch called for a summit of Gulf Arab leaders.

"Unfortunately, some regional, Islamic and Arab states for whatever reason, and with a smile of satisfaction, are supporting or tolerating this rare genocide in silence," Ahmadinejad wrote in the letter published on his website.

"[They] are expecting that this defenseless people's existence will be broken and that they surrender to the oppression of the occupiers," he said, urging King Abdullah "to break his silence and announce his view" on the crisis.

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