Madam, - As far as I know, it is a factual error to say that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has threatened to "wipe Israel off the map". Certainly neither Peter Hirschberg (World News, April 8th) nor Tony Allwright (Opinion & Analysis, April 23rd) offers any clues as to where or when they think he made such a threat.
The hazard this oft-repeated allegation poses to global security is evident in threats from former Israeli defence minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton that Iran will be destroyed if it attacks Israel.
The unverified allegation seems to arise from remarks the newly elected Iranian President Ahmadinejad made in Farsi at a conference in Tehran in October 2005.
During this speech, Ahmadinejad made repeated mention of the "Zionist regime" in Israel, which he saw as a bridgehead for the West to dominate the Islamic world. He listed three other regimes that had recently been abolished: those of the Shah of Iran, the Soviet Union and Saddam Hussein. And he referred to comments by Ayatollah Khomeini: "The Imam said: 'This regime that is occupying Qods [ Jerusalem] must be eliminated from the pages of history.'" A translation by the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute, published on the web, uses the word "regime" 15 times.
Now, there is a vast difference between threatening to wipe a country off the map, and calling for the elimination of a hostile regime from the pages of history. Few readers of The Irish Times would call for the United States or China to be wiped off the map, but many might call for the abolition of the regimes that are currently occupying Baghdad and Lhasa - just as they were delighted to read of the overthrow of the Ba'ath Party regime in Iraq.
If President Ahmadinejad has ever uttered any real threat against Israel, explicit or implicit, The Irish Times ought to publish details of where and when, and a meticulous translation of exactly what he said. Otherwise, it should avoid contributing to international misunderstanding.
While the editors may not have full control over the pages of history, they might at least eliminate unverified allegations from the pages of their paper. - Yours, etc,
COILÍN Ó hAISEADHA, Bóthar Inse Chór, Baile Átha Cliath 8.