Questioning the Holocaust and calling for Israel's elimination
Khamenei repeatedly cast doubt on the Holocaust and predicted or called for Israel's destruction, calling it a 'cancerous tumour'. In 2020 his official account posted a 'Final Solution' poster that Israel, the United States and Germany condemned as antisemitic.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Says the reality of the Holocaust is 'uncertain' - The Times of Israel and The Diplomat reported that in a Nowruz speech in Mashhad, Khamenei called the Holocaust an event 'whose reality is uncertain and if it has happened, it's uncertain how it has happened', and criticised what he described as a ban on discussing it in Europe. Iran's Khamenei 'uncertain' if Holocaust occurred
- Says Israel will not exist in 25 years - CNN and JTA reported that weeks after the nuclear deal, Khamenei said Israel would not see the next 25 years and that a 'spirit of struggle and jihad' would not leave it in peace. Iran's Khamenei: Israel won't exist in 25 years
- Official account posts a 'Final Solution' poster - Radio Farda reported that Khamenei's official Twitter account posted a poster reading 'Palestine will be free. The Final Solution: Resistance until Referendum'. Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) said it evoked the Nazis' plan to exterminate the Jews, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Germany's foreign ministry condemned it. The account replied that eliminating Israel 'doesn't mean eliminating Jews'. Netanyahu Says Khamenei Threat Of 'Final Solution' Evokes Nazi Slogan
- Quds Day speech calls Israel a 'cancerous tumour' to be uprooted - Reuters and DW reported that in a Quds Day speech Khamenei called Israel a 'cancerous tumour' that 'will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed' and praised the supply of weapons to Palestinian militants. Iran's supreme leader blasts 'cancerous' Israel on Quds Day
- During Twitter CEO's Senate testimony, asks why doubting the Holocaust is a crime - JTA and The Times of Israel reported that on the day Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey told a US Senate hearing that Holocaust denial was not covered by the platform's misinformation policy, and senators pressed him over Khamenei's posts, Khamenei's account asked 'why is it a crime to raise doubts about the Holocaust?' and contrasted it with insults to the Prophet being allowed. Twitter CEO suggests Holocaust denial not banned, in Senate grilling