Iran steals show at OIC conference with “cancerous tumour” slur against Isarael. Western media all but ignores it
This weekend’s meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) featured the usual fun and games. Apart from “spot the democracy” — rumour has it that the Arab states suggested hide and seek as an alternative variant — it was an old favourite that dominated proceedings: baiting the Jewish state. Among the assembled foreign ministers from the 57 member OIC it was Iran’s Manuchehr Mottaki who stole the show with his description of Israel as a “cancerous tumour” which must be removed.
It is easy to understand, therefore, why his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Muallim should have introduced a new term to describe the Israeli concerns about Iran. Apparently this is all “Iranophobia”. Well, of course. You’d have to be nothing short of paranoid to be even remotely troubled by a regime like Iran, even as it moves to within a hair’s breadth of acquiring nuclear weapons.
In all seriousness, though, a western media which was truly interested in understanding the regional context in which Israel operates should be covering such events in detail. Aside from the news agencies there has been practically nothing. I found the “cancerous tumour” reference through the BBC Monitoring Service which was quoting Iran’s IRNA news agency. Apart from that, there was nothing.
Let us not forget that the kind of statements made by the Iranian foreign minister could quite legitimately be viewed by Israel as a declaration of war. Countries have gone to war over far less. It is true that the Iranians make such comments on a regular basis. But the fleeting nature of the reporting in the West could all too easily leave the wider public with the impression that threatening language from Tehran is nothing more than the occasional blowing off of steam to accommodate a particular audience. It is not. It is a daily reality reflecting the true character of a vile and aggressive tyranny. It is a reality that we cannot afford to ignore.