Jason Greenblatt
Jason GreenblattReuters

Jason Greenblatt, the US Special Representative for International Negotiations, on Monday condemned the anti-Israel comments made by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani this past Saturday.

"We condemn the outrageous comments by Iran’s Rouhani calling Israel a 'cancerous tumor,' questioning its right to exist and calling for its destruction. Rouhani continues to spread the Iranian regime’s hateful and destructive ideology instead of improving Iranian lives," he tweeted.

Rouhani’s comments came at a conference. In addition to calling Israel a “cancerous tumor”, the Iranian president urged Muslim nations worldwide to unite and destroy Israel while also adding that Israel is a "fake regime".

Rouhani also attacked the United States in his remarks, saying that "we have a choice to either roll out red carpets for criminals or to forcefully stand against injustice and remain faithful to our Prophet, our Quran and our Islam."

Rouhani’s remarks were condemned by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who said, “I strongly condemn the unacceptable statements by President Rouhani regarding Israel. Questioning Israel's right to exist and calling for its destruction is absolutely unacceptable.”

On Sunday, the European Union also condemned Rouhani’s comments, saying, “President Rouhani’s remarks bringing into question Israel’s legitimacy are totally unacceptable. They are also incompatible with the need to address international disputes through dialogue and international law.”