TEHRAN - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israelis have "usurped the houses, land, fields and businesses" of Palestinians.
"It is Israeli people who inhabit the settlements... and which the puppet Zionist government arms against the Palestinians," he said.
"The Islamic republic's position is very clear... We have no problem with Jews, Christians or the faithful of other religions, but we have a problem with the usurpers of the land of Palestine," he said.
A few hours later Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, a vice president in charge of the tourist board, issued a statement saying he fully respected the Khamenei's policies.
"I act within the framework of the policies defined by the supreme leader," said his statement as carried by the official IRNA news agency.
Mashaie had sparked a minor controversy in Tehran when he said Iran was a friend of the Israeli people, without elaborating.
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