Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said today he was "shocked and saddened" at comments by the President of Iran that Israel should be "wiped off the map".
Mr Ahern said Department of Foreign Affairs officials conveyed to the Iranian Embassy in Dublin the Government's clear view that the remarks, as reported, were "entirely unacceptable."
"They can only have a very negative effect in a troubled region, and they contribute nothing to relations between the EU and Iran" Mr Ahern added.
Fine Gael's spokesman on foreign affairs Bernard Allen described the remarks as "appalling".
"The comments from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran that Israel is a 'disgraceful blot' that should be 'wiped off the face of the earth' are absolutely unacceptable and must be condemned," Mr Allen said.
"The EU should act as one voice and a strong message of censure must be sent by to Iran following these appalling and unacceptable comments."