Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday defended his anti-Israel policies from attacks by his election opponents, ISNA news agency reported.

"Unfortunately, some persons (election candidates) ask why do you (Ahmadinejad) say that the Zionists (Israel) are criminals and why do you insult them," Ahmadinejad said in a campaign speech in Pakdasht, south-east of the capital Tehran.

The three challengers of Ahmadinejad in the June 12 presidential election - Mir-Hossein Moussavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Mohsen Rezaei - have constantly blamed the president for having caused unnecessary international uproar with his anti-Israeli tirades.

The three candidates are, however, also widely known for their anti-Israeli stance and support for Palestine in the Middle East conflict.

"They (opponents) say why do you talk about the Holocaust and why do you support the resistance groups in Palestine and Lebanon," said Ahmadinejad, who seeks a second four-year term in office.

Ahmadinejad's controversial remarks that Israel should be wiped off the map, that its citizens should be re-located to Europe and America and especially his questioning the historic dimensions of the massacre of Jews in the World War II, caused the president and Iran to be internationally condemned.

The moderate candidates Moussavi and Karroubi criticized the remarks as irrelevant and unnecessary and just leading to Iran towards renewed isolation.

Moussavi pointed out that the president's remarks on the Holocaust just led to a renewed international acknowledgement of the incident and increased sympathy for Israel, which was definitely not Ahmadinejad's aim.

"We have a humanitarian and Islamic duty to aid suppressed nations," Ahmadinejad said, referring to Iran's support for the Palestinian cause.

Just like Ahmadinejad, Moussavi and Karroubi also support the basic Iranian standpoint that a referendum by all residents in Israel and Palestine, including the millions of Palestinian refugees, should decide about the future fate of the Middle East conflict.

Moussavi, the main challenger to the president, said this option should be discussed at the regional and world level.

Karroubi has said that raising irrelevant issues such as the Holocaust would only overshadow the main problem in the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma and delay a settlement.

Observers believe that even in case of a change in Iran's executive power, the Israeli state would not be acknowledged and the Middle East policies remain the same as during Ahmadinejad's administration, but without the Ahmadinejad-style tirades. (dpa)