Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi engaged in Holocaust denial during a CBS News interview Sunday night and interviewer Lesley Stahl did not pushback on Raisi’s statements.
Raisi made the remarks after Stahl noted a 2018 tweet from supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who wrote: “Israel is a malignant, cancerous tumor… that has to be removed and eradicated.”
“Do you believe the Holocaust happened? That 6 million Jews were slaughtered?” Stahl asked.
“Look… Historical events should be investigated by researchers and historians,” Raisi answered. “There are some signs that it happened. If so, they should allow it to be investigated and researched.”
Raisi faced widespread backlash for his remarks but Stahl also faced some criticism for not asking a follow-up.
“She had to have known this was coming… and yet, just, let it go?” Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, tweeted.
“Why are you giving this monster air time?!” StopAntisemitism.org tweeted.
“An Iranian woman, #MahsaAmini, was killed for refusing to wear a hijab,” Iranian Americans for Liberty tweeted. “When #LesleyStahl & @60Minutes interview President Raisi, while wearing a hijab, they normalize the murder of Mahsa. 100%. We call on 60 Minutes to not air their interview with Raisi.”
WATCH:
When asked if he believed the Holocaust happened, Iranian President Raisi told Lesley Stahl, “There are some signs that it happened. If so, they should allow it to be investigated and researched.” https://t.co/CChTRxBFcr pic.twitter.com/7ZSBEknrh1
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 19, 2022
TRANSCRIPT:
Lesley Stahl (voice over): The supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was scathing when he tweeted on the same subject in English in 2018: “Israel is a malignant, cancerous tumor… that has to be removed and eradicated.”
Lesley Stahl: Do you believe the Holocaust happened? That 6 million Jews were slaughtered?
President Ebrahim Raisi (translation): Look… Historical events should be investigated by researchers and historians. There are some signs that it happened. If so, they should allow it to be investigated and researched.
Lesley Stahl: So you’re not sure, I’m getting that you’re not sure. What about Israel’s right to exist?
President Ebrahim Raisi (translation): You see, the people of Palestine are the reality. This is the right of the people of Palestine who were forced to leave their houses and motherland. The Americans are supporting this false regime there to take root and to be established there.
Lesley Stahl: You know that Morocco, Bahrain, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates have all recognized Israel– and have relations with Israel. And it is said that Saudi Arabia is also talking directly with Israel. And I wonder if you want to comment on that.
President Ebrahim Raisi (translation): If a state shakes hands with the Zionist regime, then they are also an accomplice to their crimes. And they are stabbing the very idea of Palestine in the back.
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