The White House in early December denied a report in a Kuwaiti newspaper quoting an unnamed official claiming Obama was planning an historic trip to Iran in 2014.
Iran Media: Israel Wants Al Aqsa Mosque Detroyed
Official Iranian state-run media has released several false reports in recent days using fabricated quotes purportedly from an Israeli minister vowing to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Arik Ben-Shimon, spokesman for Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel, confirmed to this column that Ariel did not make comments about destroying the Al Aqsa Mosque.
“If he actually made those statements it would be headlines in major newspapers around the world and not fake news in Iran’s media,” Ben-Shimon said.
The next day, Iran’s Press TV reported, “Saudi Arabia is supporting the Israeli regime in its plan to replace the holy al-Aqsa Mosque with a temple,” according to an analyst that spoke with the media outlet.
Continued Press TV: “Saab Shaath was talking to Press TV on Saturday, one day after Israeli Minister of Housing and Construction Uri Ariel called for the construction of what he called ‘the Third Temple’ to replace the holy site.”
Shaath went on to call for “resistance” against Israel because of the so-called threats against the mosque in Jerusalem.
“The only thing which will stop the Israelis from going that far is the Arab-Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon,” Shaath told Press TV.
A Press TV editorial cited Ariel’s supposed quotes about the Al Aqsa Mosque to claim that “Zionists [are] provoking Armageddon.”
Ben-Shimon, meanwhile, said Ariel did make statements last year about rebuilding the Third Jewish Temple. “But he was speaking about his dream for the Third Temple to be rebuilt after the coming of the Messiah. He was not referring to any real plans for Israel to reconstruct the Temple,” Ben-Shimon stated.
