Iranian lawmakers are calling for Vice President Esfandier Rahim Mashai's head after he stated earlier this week that Iran is "friends of all people in the world, even Israelis."

More than 200 Iranian parliamentarians signed a letter to President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad demanding that he "deal with his deputy with severity."

In the statement, the Iranian lawmakers insisted that Mashai's remarks were "shameful," and that "we do not recognize a country called Israel, let alone its people."