Iran President wants to vist world cup

Koen Freriks

29 mei 2006, 16:20

In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine,Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was still considering travelling to Germany for the World Cup soccer tournament.

However he went on to say that, he doubted Germans were allowed to write "the truth" about the Holocaust. "I believe the German people are prisoners of the Holocaust. More than 60 million were killed in World War Two ... The question is: Why is it that only Jews are at the centre of attention?," he said in the interview published on Sunday.

"How long is this going to go on?" he added. "How long will the German people be held hostage to the Zionists?... Why should you feel obligated to the Zionists? You've paid reparations for 60 years and will have to pay for another 100 years."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders have said his previous remarks questioning whether the Holocaust happened were unacceptable. Denying the Holocaust is a serious crime in Germany punishable with a prison term of up to five years.