(JTA) — As Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed victory in the Iranian presidential elections, Israeli officials and U.S. Jewish organizations called on the international community to confront Tehran over its nuclear program.
"In light of Iran’s ongoing [nuclear] policy, and the victory and continued rule of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the international community must act uncompromisingly to prevent the country’s nuclearization and to stymie its efforts to aid terror organizations and undermine the stability of the Middle East," Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Saturday night, according to the Foreign Ministry.
David Harris, the executive director of the American Jewish Committee, also called for international pressure, saying in a statement that "The re-election of Ahmadinejad underscores why the international community must do all it can to deny the Iranian regime the means to carry out its dangerous and destabilizing ambitions."
Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, predicted that an Ahmadinejad victory means "Iran is likely to be another four years of extremism and isolation."
Ahmadinejad’s top rival, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, and many of Mousavi’s supporters were disputing the officials results, accusing the government of voter fraud.
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