Ahmadinejad was speaking to a crowd of tens of thousands,many of them chanting anti-Israeli slogans, gathered at the shrine ofAyatollah Ruhollah Khomeini for a ceremony marking the 21st anniversary of hisdeath, and.
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He dedicated much of his speech to blasting the Iranian oppositionfor straying from the path of the founder of the Islamic Revolution, hintingthey were cooperating with ’sworst enemies.
Ahmadinejad told the crowd that those "who deviate fromthe Imam's path will be banished by the people." The speech comes daysahead of the opposition's mass rally planned on the anniversary of last June'sdisputed presidential election.
Earlier in the week Ahmadinejad expressed his appreciation of the West's condemnation of the Israeli raid.In a speech broadcast live on state TV on Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the Security Council to adopt a resolution that would "cut off" Israel's hands, thus preventing it from committing more "crimes."