A sharp diplomatic clash is unfolding between Russia and Israel, after Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova publicly criticized remarks made by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

The criticism followed a speech Netanyahu delivered at a ceremony at Mount Herzl, where he warned of the threat of “another Holocaust” emerging from Iran. In his address, he stated that “the regime in Iran planned another Holocaust,” cautioning that without decisive intervention, Iran’s nuclear facilities could become symbols akin to extermination camps.

Zakharova responded with an unusually blunt and sarcastic statement, saying, “Did Iran also carry out the first Holocaust?” She said the comparison between Iran and Nazi Germany was, in her view, fundamentally flawed and misleading.

She argued that during World War II, Iran had aligned itself with the Allied powers and formally declared war on Nazi Germany in 1943. She emphasized that responsibility for the Holocaust lies with Nazi Germany and its collaborators across Europe, not Iran.

Zakharova further criticized the use of references to extermination camps such as Auschwitz concentration camp, Majdanek concentration camp, and Sobibor extermination camp in connection with Iran, calling such comparisons “inappropriate” and offensive to the memory of Holocaust victims. She described the remarks as a distortion of historical facts and a misuse of terminology.

Expanding her remarks beyond the immediate dispute, Zakharova also accused Israel of overlooking what she described as the glorification of Nazi collaborators in Ukraine since 2014. She also reiterated controversial claims regarding alleged Western involvement in financing Nazi Germany.

Concluding her statement, Zakharova urged a return to international diplomatic frameworks, specifically calling for renewed adherence to the nuclear agreement with Iran. She cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who has stressed the importance of coordinated global efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

{Matzav.com}