Iran’s new leader laments Israel ‘ wound’

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s president-elect called Israel’s control of Jerusalem and Palestinian lands a “wound” for the Islamic world in relatively moderate remarks Friday that contrasted with the harsh rhetoric of his predecessor and other Iranian leaders.

Speaking to reporters during an annual pro-Palestinian rally, Hasan Rouhani said: “In our region and under occupation of Palestine and dear Jerusalem, there has been a wound on the body of the Islamic world.”

The comments, two days before Rouhani’s inauguration, were tame compared with those frequently made by outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for Israel’s destruction. The country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, once called the Jewish state a “cancer” that needed to be cut away.

A semiofficial Iranian news agency initially quoted Rouhani as calling Israel a “wound that should be removed.” That prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to retort that “the real face of Rouhani has been exposed earlier than expected.”

But the news agency, ISNA, later said it was a misquote, confirmed by state TV footage of Rouhani’s comment reviewed by The Associated Press. Netanyahu issued no statement on the corrected version.

Nevertheless, the mishap underscored the challenges facing the incoming president, who was elected in June with pledges to seek a calmer and more balanced outreach to the West.

It is Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guard who control Iranian policies, and the supreme leader has final say in all key matters.