Of the 27 European Union states, 23 walked out of an international conference on racism Monday after Iran's president launched a verbal onslaught against Israel, triggering furious rebukes from Western capitals.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has previously called for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map, criticised the creation of a "totally racist government in occupied Palestine" in 1948, calling it "the most cruel and repressive racist regime.
The conference had been boycotted by the United States, Israel, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Poland and Germany. The Czech Republic announced following his speech that it would be withdrawing from the summit over his remarks on Israel and the Holocaust
The 23 countries that turned their back on Ahmadinejad:
1. Austria
2. Belgium
3. Bulgaria
4. Cyprus
5. Denmark
6. Estonia
7. Finland
8. France
9. Greece
10. Hungary
11. Ireland
12. Latvia
13. Lithuania
14. Luxembourg
15. Malta
16. The Netherlands
17. Portugal
18. Romania
19. Slovakia
20. Slovenia
21. Spain
22. Sweden
23. United Kingdom
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.