By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Italy's foreign minister has called on the international community to help guarantee Israel's security and condemned Iran's president for saying the Jewish state should be "wiped off the map."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad merely said what many others think "but have not always dared speak with such brutality," Gianfranco Fini also was quoted as saying in an interview published Saturday in Milan daily Corriere della Sera.
"Not recognizing Israel's right to exist is an incentive for terrorism because the moment you don't recognize a state's right to exist you don't recognize a people's right to exist," Fini was quoted as saying.
"That makes it clear that it is indispensable to guarantee to Israel the commitment of the international community towards its safety," Fini said.
During a visit to Israel earlier this week, Fini said Italy wants Iran to be referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions on the issue of nuclear weapons. Until then, Fini had rarely spoken in public about Italy's position on the Iranian nuclear issue.