At a Quds Day event in Auckland, New Zealand, held on June 23, Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Shafie said that Israel and the Zionist regime "hide behind a fake phenomenon" of the Holocaust and that it was a conspiracy to infiltrate the Islamic countries. He said that Quds Day was established "to deal a powerful punch to the mouth of the cancerous tumor known as evil Israel," and cited Imam Khomeini as saying that "if every Muslim were to spit in the face of Israel, Israel would drown." Iranian diplomat Hormoz Ghahremani, presented at the event as the first secretary of the Iranian Embassy in New Zealand, said that the "sinister phenomena of terrorism and extremism in the region" were "fueled and fanned by the enemies of Islam and the Zionist circles." Community elder Sayed Taghi Derhami said that Israel was a "cancerous tumor" that had to be "surgically removed." The event was organized by the Islamic Ahlulbayt Foundation of New Zealand, in Auckland, and was posted on its YouTube channel.

Hormoz Ghahremani: "The Israeli regime is trying to deceive the world's public opinion by pretending to be an advocate of peace and fight against terrorism and even improving ties with some Muslim countries. Today, we are facing the sinister phenomena of terrorism and extremism in the region, which are fueled and fanned by the enemies of Islam and the Zionist circles, to divert the attention of the Islamic nation from the issue of Palestine. The Zionist regime is exploiting terrorist actions conducted by the takfiri groups as what the terrorists are doing is damaging peace and security of Muslim and Arab countries. This should be brought to the attention of the global public opinion.

[...]

"The Muslim and Arab nations of West Asia need to preserve their unity against the anti-human regime of Israel, and discern their common enemy with profound insight. On the other hand, they have to stay extremely vigilant against any plots hatched by the Zionists and their international sponsors to deviate them from the path of resistance and the restoration of the rights of the oppressed Palestinians. The Zionists make divisions in the Muslim world, to achieve their goals."

[...]

Hojatoleslam Shafie: "Quds Day was given this name by Imam Khomeini, in order to deal a powerful punch to the mouth of the cancerous tumor known as evil Israel."

Sayed Taghi Derhami: "This is the day that was established by Imam Khomeini to be a continuous blow to the roots of the cancerous tumor of Israel in the region."

[...]

Hojatoleslam Shafie: "As you all know, Israel and the Zionist regime hide behind a fake phenomenon, a phenomenon described as a Holocaust, and do not let anybody research the Holocaust."

Sayed Taghi Derhami: "We all know that the whole existence of Israel is fabricated around the question of the Holocaust. And the Holocaust is that phenomenon that in itself is not allowed to be investigated and to find out what it is."

Hojatoleslam Shafie: "I have several questions. The first is that if the Holocaust indeed took place in WW II – why aren't the [relevant] documents published, and why don't they allow the subject to be researched?

[...]

"If it is true that seven million Jews were killed, when they were burned by Hitler and Nazi Germany, another 63 million people were killed, so why doesn't anybody talk about their oppression?

[...]

"Why does one regime have to be racist, and consider itself to be superior to the rest of the world?

[...]

"My second question is as follows: If, indeed, this crime took place and the Jews were oppressed in WW II, why should Palestine and the other Islamic states be punished for this?

[...]

"Since countries such as Germany are alleged to have oppressed the Jews, why isn't part of Germany given to the Jews for their state?

[...]

"All this indicates that there is a conspiracy for the Zionist regime and the Zionist lobbies to infiltrate the Islamic countries, in order to fulfill their supreme goal: The State of Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates.

[...]

"In my opinion, the countdown to the annihilation of the Zionist regime has begun. According to some analyses, if the [other] nations are present on the scene, the Zionist regime will not last even 25 years.

[...]

"What is needed is for the entire world to have the same desire. My dream is that on the anniversary of the 40th day of the martyrdom of Imam Hossein, the tens of millions who march from Najaf to Karbala will then turn to march upon Jerusalem.

[...]

"Imam Khomeini once said that if every Muslim were to spit in the face of Israel, Israel would drown. If every Muslim community directed a shout toward the Zionist regime, nothing would remain of this regime."

Sayed Taghi Derhami: "As Imam Khomeini has said, if Muslim people get together, and each one pours a glass of water over Israel, the flood will wash away Israel.

[...]

"Imam Khomeini calls it cancerous – a cancerous gland. It has to be surgically removed, if the people of the Middle East want to have the sovereign rights of ruling their own life."