Madam, - The allegation that Iran's President Ahmadinejad threatened to "wipe Israel off the map" has all the features of an urban legend - a scary story that circulates in the popular consciousness, referring to secondhand sources to identify a lurking threat which cannot be verified by efforts to track the original source.
Testimony to the unreliability of secondhand sources is provided by the seánfhocal: "Dúirt bean liom go ndúirt bean léi. . ." This applies also to anonymous articles on the Al-Jazeera website.
For a more plausible translation of what President Ahmadinejad said about "the regime occupying Jerusalem" at the "World without Zionism" conference in Tehran in October 2005, I invite readers to see the Middle East Media Research Institute's translation: http://tinyurl.com/3ldgqy - and also Arash Norouzi's account of the origins of what she calls the rumour of the century: http://tinyurl.com/ytx8uu. - Yours, etc,
COILÍN ÓHAISEADHA,
Bóthar Inse Chór,
Cill Mhaighneann,
Baile Átha Cliath 8.
Madam, Regardless of what President Ahmadinejad did or didn't say in October 2005 (letters, April 25th and 28th), what isn't in doubt is what Shimon Peres, the vice-president of Israel at the time, retorted some months later: "The president of Iran should remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map" (Jerusalem Post, May 8th, 2006).
Can someone please point out to me who stands on the lower moral ground? I'm having some trouble deciding. - Yours, etc,
NICK HILLIARD,
De Courcey Square,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 9.