President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran continued his inflammatory rhetoric against Israel today, in spite of the diplomatic storm over a speech that called for the destruction of the Jewish state.

As tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets across the country for annual state-sponsored anti-Israel rallies, world leaders continued to condemn the President’s comments, which have heightened concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Officially, Tehran was attempting to smooth over the row, blaming the debacle on Mr Ahmadinejad's relative inexperience. "Mr Ahmadinejad did not have any intention to speak up in such sharp terms and enter into a conflict," the Iranian embassy in Moscow said in the country's first official reaction.

The President, however, refused to be cowed. In a speech to the angry crowds in Tehran he said: "They [the US and Israel] are cheeky humans, and they think that the entire world should obey them. They destroy Palestinian families and expect nobody to object to them."

Israel has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council at which it is likely call for Iran to be expelled from the UN and subjected to economic sanctions.

"We have decided to open a broad diplomatic offensive," Silvan Shalom, the Israeli Foreign Minister, said. "This malicious statement warrants a resolute and strong response from the international community."

Tony Blair, ending a one-day European Union summit at Hampton Court in London yesterday, called the explosive declaration a disgrace and hinted at military action.

"If they carry on like this the question people will be asking us is — when are you going to do something about Iran? Can you imagine a State like that with an attitude like that having nuclear weapons?", he said.

"I have never come across a situation in which the president of a country has said they want to wipe out another country. That is unacceptable."

Across Iran, tens of thousands of men and women loyal to the regime paraded through the streets of towns and cities - their banners bearing slogans demanding the abolition of Israel.

"Death to Israel, death to America," was a popular motif, in what one correspondent described as a 'carnival of bloodthirsty rhetoric'. Israeli and American flags were burnt; militants were openly recruiting for suicide missions.

Young girls wearing head-to-toe black chadors with green headbands daubed in Islamic verse chanted anti-Israeli slogans. One banner showed caricatures of President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Mr Blair and Ariel Sharon.

The state-organised demonstrations, part of annual al-Quds Jerusalem Day protests, date back to the 1979 revolution and creation of the Shia Muslim state, led by Ayatollah Khomeini.

Ramita Navai, Tehran Correspondent for The Times, was among thousands on the streets of the Iranian capital.

"The conservative hardliners have turned out in force, but it would be a mistake to think that all of Iran is on the streets baying for Israel's blood. The majority of ordinary Iranians don't really care about Israel - they have enough to worry about at home with a declining economy and high unemployment," she said.

John Bolton, the US Ambassador to the UN, has called the President’s comments "pernicious and unacceptable."

Unlike the US, the EU has always emphasised the need to engage Iran diplomatically, but it also abandoned its more cautious stance yesterday.

"Calls for violence and for the destruction of any state are manifestly inconsistent with any claim to be a mature and responsible member of the international community," the leaders said in an agreed statement.

Britain, France and Germany have been responsible for handling the EU’s relations with Iran in international forums, and have been notably careful in their diplomatic language, particularly in reference to the prospect of any military action against Iran. By contrast, Washington has conspicuously refused to rule out such action.

But fears in Western governments have grown since the removal last June of Mr Ahmadinejad’s predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, who had been much less hostile to Israel and of whom both Tony Blair and Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, had hopes of a better relationship.

His successor, the former mayor of Tehran, was an unknown quantity to the West. On Wednesday he made his hardline views clear when he cited the founder of Iran’s Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini: "As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map."

Fears about Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been augmented by worries about its activities in Iraq, where it has been suspected of supporting insurgents.

There have been reports that high-ranking members of al-Qaeda have been allowed to roam freely in Iran. Tehran has denied any link to or support for the terrorist group.

The Iranian media has largely ignored the international furore: interspersed with scenes from the rallies, the seven state television channels were broadcasting footage of Palestinians being beaten, shot or arrested by Israeli troops.

WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID

‘Anybody who recognises Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury [while] any [Islamic leader] who recognises the Zionist regime means he is acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world . . . As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map’

President Ahmadinejad

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