Indonesia, Qatar delay condemning Iran over Israel
Indonesia and Qatar delayed on Friday a proposed U.N. Security Council statement condemning comments by Iran's president that forecast thedestruction of Israel.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that Lebanese and Palestinians had pressed a "countdown button" to bring an end to the "Zionist regime." "By God's will, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future," he said in a speech.
France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, who initiated the statement, said that calling for the destruction of Israel was "unacceptable" and that the council had to react as it did in October 2005 when the Iranian president said Israel should be "wiped off the map."
But he said "one delegation did not have instructions," which diplomats identified as Qatar, and "another delegation had reservations and is going to report back to its capital." That country was Indonesia.
Unlike a resolution, a statement by the council has to be unanimous, in effect giving veto power to each of the 15 member.
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