TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on arch-foe the United States to punish those who desecrated the Koran, saying the "catastrophe" had offended Muslims across the world.
Khamenei stressed however that "Christians and religious men must not be held accountable for the puppet-like actions of some foolish and mercenary pastors."
"Today, the US government and politicians must answer the demands of all Muslims," the Iranian supreme leader said in a statement carried by the ILNA news agency late on Monday.
"If they are true to their claims that they did not have a hand in the incident, they should find a suitable punishment for the key elements behind this great catastrophe which has caused heartache to one and a half billion Muslims."
Evangelical pastor Terry Jones had threatened in the run-up to the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States to burn hundreds of copies of the Koran at his tiny Florida church. He later relented.
But a group of conservative Christians tore up pages of the Muslim holy book in a protest outside the White House on Saturday.
Khamenei’s call for them to be punished came after two top Iranian clerics said on Monday that anyone desecrating the Koran should be put to death.
"From the point of view of Islamic jurisprudence, strong objection to such thoughts is mandatory and necessary and killing the people who have committed this act is compulsory," the Fars news agency quoted Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani as saying.
His view was echoed by Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, who added that such a response must be taken after consulting a "religious judge."
"The blood of the person who burns the Koran can undoubtedly be shed. But in this issue, no action should be taken without the permission of a religious judge," Makarem Shirazi told Fars.
On Monday, up to 500 Iranians demonstrated outside the Swiss embassy in Tehran in protest at the desecration of the Koran.
The Swiss embassy looks after US interests in Iran as Washington and Tehran have had no diplomatic relations since the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Meanwhile, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran and Africa wanted a new world order to replace the existing one which has been created by "slave masters," as he opened an Iran-Africa conference on Tuesday.
"The mutual feeling is that the world needs a new management system," the Mehr news agency quoted him as saying in his speech at the start of the two-day forum in Tehran attended by dignitaries from several African countries.
Ahmadinejad, who has often blamed the West for the ongoing economic crisis, said the current world order was created by "former colonizers and slave masters… to continue exploiting the wealth of African nations."
He offered Iran’s cooperation in helping develop Africa, saying the Islamic republic "has no limit" in aiding the continent, especially when it comes to exporting technology there.
Those attending the conference hosted by Tehran were Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika and his Senegalese counterpart Abdoulaye Wade, and ministers from several other African countries.
Mutharika said he envisioned a speedy development of relations between Iran and Africa over the next five years.
"We will soon witness the installation of many Iranian industries in Africa," he said in his speech quoted by state television’s website.
The conference aims to discuss how Iran can assist in developing Africa.
