Iran State-Media Claims CNN ‘Fabricated’ Rouhani Holocaust Remarks

September 25, 2013 12:48 pm 16 comments
Irani President Hassan Rouhani at the United Nations. Photo: Screenshot.

Irani President Hassan Rouhani at the United Nations. Photo: Screenshot.

It was reported that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had delivered what his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, never could — recognition that the Holocaust took place — but according to the semi-official Iranian Fars News Agency significant parts of the report are inaccurate.

On CNN.com’s home page Wednesday morning, the main headline asserted that Rouhani, in an interview with network reporter Christiane Amanpour, said that the Holocaust happened: “Iran’s New President: Yes, the Holocaust Happened.”

Fars however, categorically denied the claim that Rouhani addressed the Holocaust by name, saying the network “fabricated” the story, adding the word ‘Holocaust,’ among other conciliatory phrases, to its translation.

Fars said: “The CNN aired its interview with Rouhani on Tuesday but the news channel added to or changed parts of his remarks when Christiane Amanpour asked him about the Holocaust.”

In the following translation, Fars claimed that the bold and underlined words were added to, or completely altered from, Rouhani’s original statement:

CNN’s Translation: “I’ve said before that I am not a historian and then, when it comes to speaking of the dimensions of the Holocaust, it is the historians that should reflect on it. But in general I can tell you that any crime that happens in history against humanity, including the crime that Nazis committed towards the Jews as well as non-Jews is reprehensible and condemnable. Whatever criminality they committed against the Jews, we condemn, the taking of human life is contemptible, it makes no difference whether that life is Jewish life, Christian or Muslim, for us it is the same, but taking the human life is something our religion rejects but this doesn’t mean that on the other hand you can say Nazis committed crime against a group now therefore, they must usurp the land of another group and occupy it. This too is an act that should be condemned. There should be an even-handed discussion”.

According to Fars, the exact translation of Rouhani’s comments is as follows:

Rouhani’s: “I have said before that I am not a historian and historians should specify, state and explain the aspects of historical events, but generally we fully condemn any kind of crime committed against humanity throughout the history, including the crime committed by the Nazis both against the Jews and non-Jews, the same way that if today any crime is committed against any nation or any religion or any people or any belief, we condemn that crime and genocide. Therefore, what the Nazis did is condemned, but the aspects that you talk about, clarification of these aspects is a duty of the historians and researchers, I am not a history scholar.”

The CNN story traveled around the world quickly, FARS noted, writing, “After the CNN released the interview, hundreds of news agencies, TV and news channels, websites and weblogs broadcast this title: ‘Iran’s President Rouhani Calls Holocaust ‘Reprehensible’ Crime Against Jews,’ a title quoted from the CNN; Or ‘Rouhani Recognizes the Holocaust as Crime against Jews.’”

Reuters, for example, headlined its article: “Rouhani Recognizes Holocaust As Crime Against Jews.” In an earlier interview with NBC, Rouhani declined to comment on whether the Holocaust took place.

Responding to the allegations, a CNN public relations manager pointed a finger back at the Iranians saying, “The translator was hired by the Iranians.”

“We re-voiced/dubbed exactly as she translated,” the spokesperson said and pledged that CNN would publish the entire 56 minutes of the interview Wednesday.

In the past, the Fars agency has been caught publishing questionable reports. In 2012 the authenticity of an interview Fars published with then Egyptian president Morsi was challenged by local media outlets. In September of that year Fars picked up an article from satirical newspaper The Onion, which reported on a fabricated poll showing that an overwhelming majority of rural white Americans would rather vote for then Iranian President Ahmadinejad over President Obama in the upcoming U.S. general election.

Liza McGuirk Executive Producer of Amanpour’s show did not immediately respond to The Algemeiner’s request for comment.

When contacted by The Algemeiner the Israeli prime minister’s office declined to comment on the matter.

UPDATE: This article has been updated to include the Fars agency’s translation of Rouhani’s comments and a response to the report from CNN.

16 Comments

  • Aurora Aronsson

    Christiane Amampour is the same “lady” who, standing near DOZENS OF freshly dug BOSNIAN ORTHODOX graves, with their characteristic double-crosses, spoke of “muslims being massacred”…

    • Kris Kristian

      Amampour is a dangerous reporter. She lies and twists the truth.
      Time for CNN to fire her and others who lie about the truth.

  • Otto Waldmann in Sydney

    Simply a change of rhetorical tactics engaged by the same insane strategy of deceiving a world far more intelligent than them. It seems that nothing can prevent the inevitable finality of an Iranin death wish. We can only assume that the secret Iranian plan is to survive into infinity by virtue of…………self-destruction. They simply believe that the only way out is own-obliteration.
    Iranians have done everything possible since 1979 to estrange every nation, create enemies, destroy an economy which had a good chance to high living stndards, to attract the enmity of all those countries perfectly capable to destroy them, Israel, USA etc. A subliminal flight into nothingness atop what else but a perfectly designed Persian carpet……..
    Seldestructive insanity and “someone” just south of the border will have no choice but to oblige.

  • Who gives a s***t what that throw back thinks or says.

  • The Onion surpasses CNN’s credibility.

  • Evasion, prevarication, bidding for time, all ploys of the Islamic Republic of Iran; to believe that Ayatollah Khamenei has suddenly developed a universal conscience and that Iran has been sadly misunderstood making of it an undeserved pariah in world affairs is the point, and Europe and the U.S. are feverish in their rush to believe in the authenticity of their hopeful interpretations. Cunning schemes to present oneself in the image desired by critics are a specialty of the canny Ayatollahs because they know it works with the naive.

  • Chavieu BenYana BenYakov

    Then the hundreds of family members that we lost in the Holocaust were all a figment of my imagination. The 3,000 people that were shot to death in the forest outside of Shepotovka, Ukraine never existed. I pray that someone will wake me from the nightmare that has existed throughout my entire life.

  • Elder John Nwodo

    it is only the UN-INFORMED that will give different meanings to Nazis crime and HOLOCAUST against the same people – Jews.

  • Elder John Nwodo

    it is only the UN-INFORMED that will give different meanings to Nazi’s crime and HOLOCOST against the same people – Jews.

  • It is sad to see such behavior. Why CNN fabricate anything? I am happy to see Egypt is trying to live in the light not the darkness.

    Yes, I am posting quickly because this is outrageous. Why anyone deny the holycaust that happened?

    • Kris Kristian

      Those who deny the Holocaust, are insanely anti Semitic and refuse to believe that anything like that could happen. They now say that the Jews have a new “business’ the Holocaust is a good means of making money.
      And the Catholic Church has an archbishop who denies the Holocaust.

      But, strangely, the people who were the perpetraters of the Holocaust, the Germans admit that their country carried out the worst crime in history, the murder of 6 million Jews.
      Had the Holocaust never happened, then Germany would be the first country to deny the Holocaust.
      Any deniel, by whoever, shows who they are. They will also, one day, hopefully, the sooner the better, have to meet their maker.

  • It did not take them long

  • Say it ain’t so. Christiane Amanpour misreported something?

  • The only reason why Ahmadinejad denied the Holocause was to make headlines and to provoke Israel. He was simply another terrorist who happened to satisfy his nation’s needs to foment hatred while they pursued their nuclear ambitions. The psychology they employed was simple: Embroil the democratic nations in such hatred and resentment that they will be unable to view what is occurring on the nuclear scene objectively and hence will not act. For this Ahmadinejad served them well. Iran still has not been attacked and their nuclear program is progressing. Now, at the very point where it is critical for them to succeed they are trying to appear more moderate by replacing Ahmadinejad with somebody who appears sane, in the hope that they will be left alone to finish their nukes. Will the world stand by and be that stupid? Have we become so diminished in our capacity to discern who are enemies are that we will stand by and allow ourselves to be fooled? What about Netanyahu’s reported 170 IQ? Will that ever kick in and rescue the United States and world from their fatal folly? We should have assassinated – no, make that exterminated Ahmadinejad long ago. Perhaps that would have been the best way to transmit a message to Iran. As it stands now, however, no message it seems has been received by them and the world is being held hostage as a result.

  • You cannot trust a Persian. It’s all semantics. He said, she said… They hate Jews! End of the discussion. No point debating Persian vs English translation. C’mon. We have a history with these people. Persian will smile in your face and stab you in the back. Get real. Given a chance Iran would kill every Jew in sight. Mamzers

    • Kris Kristian

      Hatred of Jews is written in the Koran.
      “tree, there is a Jew, kill him”
      The Koran refers to Jews as sons of pigs and apes.
      But they seem to forget they too, are sons of Abraham, so they too, must be sons of pigs and apes.
      Never believe a Muslim. WEhen their lips move, you klnow they are telling lies

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