Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Photo: wiki commons.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has used his last few days in office to threaten Israel, as he has done many times in his previous eight years on the job.

Speaking at what is likely to be his last public address on Friday in Tehran, he addressed crowds ahead of President-elect Hassan Rouhani’s inauguration on Sunday.

“I will inform you, with G-d as my witness, a devastating storm is on the way that will uproot the basis of Zionism,” Ahmadinejad said, speaking at an annual Quds Day rally in support of Palestinians.

Israel “has no place in this region,” he said.

On Friday, president-elect Hassan Rouhani, who many in the West have labeled a moderate, quickly joined the chorus of anti-Israel Iranian politicians. Speaking in Tehran, Rouhani was quoted as saying in reference to Israel: “In our region, for many years a wound has sat on the body of the world of Islam, in the shadow of the occupation of Palestine.”

The comments garnered a strong response from Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said in a statement: “Rouhani’s true face has been revealed earlier than expected. Even if they will now rush to deny his remarks, this is what the man thinks and this is the plan of the Iranian regime.”

UN Watch also protested Rouhani’s comments in a strongly worded statement.