Iran's Nazi Site--First Reported Here--Has Now Become An Issue in Iran

By Barry Rubin

The fact, first reported in Rubin Reports, that Iran is broadcasting and apparently endorsing a pro-Nazi Internet site and discussion group has now become an issue within Iran.

A major Iranian site points out, as I had noted, that deputy minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Muhammad Ali Ramin had links to neo-Nazi groups when he lived in Europe and approved of their ideas. He then returned to Iran where he launched the government's official denial that the Holocaust ever happened. Ramin is also considered to be responsible for the new site extolling the Third Reich, since the site says it is under the supervision of his ministry.

After being criticized for antisemitism, the regime's institution cynically urged that the word "Zionist" be used rather than "Jew," a perfect example of how a lot of the pretense that hatred is merely anti-Israel is a veneer to hide the real standpoint being presented.

The new report on this story comes from the UAE-based al-Arabiya network which is more moderate than its rival, Qatar-based al-Jazira network. It can also be attributed to the fear of a more powerful Iran armed with nuclear weapons on the part of Gulf Arabs and their governments.