Iranian Vice President Rahim Mashaei was quoted by his own state-run media mouthpieces on Tuesday as calling for the destruction of Israel to become an official goal of the international community.
During a meeting with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir as the two participated in the annual pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Mashaei declared that "Zionism" lies at the root of all the world's problems.
"To save humanity from its different crises, there is no other way than the limiting of Zionist influence on human society," said the Iranian.
Mashaei caused a political storm in his own country earlier in the year when he told a tourism conference that Iran is friends with all nations, including Israel.