JERUSALEM
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has compared Iran to Nazi Germany during a ceremony commemorating the mass killing of Jews during World War II.
Netanyahu told the ceremony on Wednesday that Tehran was seeking to rule the Middle East and destroy Israel.
"Appeasing tyrannical regimes will only increase their aggression and is an approach that is liable to drag the world into larger wars," he was quoted as saying The Jerusalem Post newspaper.
"Has the world really learned from the incomprehensible, universal and Jewish tragedy of the last century, I wish I could tell you that the answer is yes,” he added.
Netanyahu has been critical of a preliminary framework between Iran and world powers aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear program.
The two sides have set themselves a June 30 deadline for reaching a deal on Iran's nuclear program.
"The bad deal with Iran signals that the lessons of the Holocaust have not been learned," Netanyahu said.
"Even if we are forced to stand alone against Iran we will not fear. In every circumstance we will preserve our right and our ability to defend ourselves," he added.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, for his part, said the creation of the state of Israel was not a compensation for the Holocaust.
"Israel was established by right, and by love of the ancient homeland and the power of dreaming a dream which became a reality," he said.
"It was not established because of the threat of destruction or the hate of the other," Rivlin added.
