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EHRAN, Iran (AP) — A radical cleric called Saturday for the creation
of a “Greater Iran” that would rule over the entire Middle East and
Central Asia, in an event that he said would herald the coming of
Islam’s expected messiah.

Ayatollah Mohammad Bagher Kharrazi said the creation of what he calls
an Islamic United States is a central aim of the political party he
leads called Hezbollah, or Party of God, and that he hoped to make it a
reality if they win the next presidential election.

Kharrazi’s comments reveal the thinking of a growing number of
hard-liners in Iran, many of whom have become more radical during the
postelection political crisis and the international standoff over the
country’s nuclear program. Kharrazi, however, is not highly influential
in Iran’s clerical hierarchy and his views do not represent those of the
current government.

Kharrazi’s comments were published Saturday in his newspaper,
Hezbollah.

He said he envisioned a Greater Iran that would stretch from
Afghanistan to Israel, bringing about the destruction of the Jewish
state.