UPI, New York, May 3 — A New York congressman Monday called for the arrest of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad when he arrives in the city for the U.N. nuclear summit.
U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, a Democrat, sent a message on Twitter saying Ahamdinejad should be ’arrested and tried for incitement to commit genocide,’ The Hill reported.
Israel later issued a statement citing Ahamdinejad’s past calls for the destruction of Israel, noting, ’ Incitement to genocide is a punishable act and instead of giving him another platform at the U.N., he should be tried.’
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., dismissed Ahamdinejad’s appearance and called for hearings into corporations that do business with Iran, Politico reported.
’There are no other words to say it: Iran’s presence at this conference is a sham,’ Gillibrand said in her own release. ’It’s time for Iran to make a real choice about its future, and it’s time for these companies to make a choice about theirs: Keep investing in Iran and threatening our security, or get real access to the global economy. They cannot and will not have it both ways.’