Netanyahu, Pence Slam 'Anti-Semitic' Iran at Holocaust Memorial

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence took turns denouncing Iran at the Holocaust memorial event on Wednesday, as both leaders accused the Islamic Republic of Anti-Semitism.

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Netanyahu, who has taken an aggressive approach towards Iran, called the Islamic Republic "the most anti-Semitic regime on the planet”, telling world leaders at a Holocaust memorial event that Israel would always defend itself against those seeking to destroy it.

“I am concerned that we have yet to see a unified and resolute stance against the most anti-Semitic regime on the planet - a regime that openly seeks to develop nuclear weapons and annihilate the one and only Jewish state,” Netanyahu said. “Israel salutes President (Donald) Trump and Vice President Pence for confronting the tyrants of Tehran,” he continued.

“At the core of Israel’s establishment is the command - there will not be another Holocaust. As prime minister of Israel, that is my greatest commitment,” Netanyahu said in his address to world leaders, who included Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

Netanyahu's statement was followed by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who did not shy away from denouncing the Iranian government. 

Pence took aim at Iran, saying it was the one country “that denies the Holocaust as a matter of state policy and threatens to wipe Israel off the map”.

The conference is being held against the backdrop of a rise in anti-Semitic attacks in the United States and Europe.

In 2018, Washington abandoned the nuclear deal that Iran signed with world powers in 2015. Under the accord, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in return for a lifting of international sanctions against it.