Iran's president-elect Hassan Rowhani was misquoted on Friday by state
media as saying arch-foe Israel was a "wound...that must be cleansed,"
state television video footage showed.
The cleric, flanked by his bodyguards was shown marching in
Tehran alongside thousands of people in support of the Palestinian cause
and condemnation of Israel, marking Iran's annual Quds (Jerusalem) Day.
In the clip, he actually said: "In any case, in our region, a
wound has for many years been sitting on the body of the Islamic world
in the shadow of occupation of the holy land of Palestine and the dear
Quds."
Rowhani goes on to say: "This day in actuality is a reminder
that Muslims will not forget their historic right and will continue to
stand against aggression and tyranny."
His actual remarks differ from earlier reports by the ISNA and Mehr news agencies.
They had quoted Rowhani as saying "the Zionist regime is a
wound inflicted for years on the body of the Muslim world that must be
cleansed."
Mehr now appears to have taken out "that must be cleansed" from its original, without giving any explanation.