President Shimon Peres told foreign diplomats Monday that Iran was “the source of evil in the world.” Peres made the comment at a pre-Rosh Hashanah toast he hosted in his residence Monday.

“Iran is seeking to take over the Middle East using weapons of mass destruction, the assistance of terror groups, the spread of hate, the intimidation of its citizens by hanging people in the streets of Tehran, and by stealing the money and resources of common people to develop its nuclear program,” Peres said. “There is no other country that poses a threat to world peace like Iran does. Iran is the only country that says loudly and clearly that it seeks to destroy another nation. This is intolerable,” Peres added.