Iran: Running out of negative adjectives for Israel

The Iranian Department of Threatening and Calling Israel Names is doing it again.

Unless you've been hiding underneath Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's copy of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, you're probably aware that he and his ever-more-nuclear regime have taken every opportunity to diss Israel.

(Above right: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unsuccessfully tries to emulate Star Trek's Vulcan salute with both hands.)

Over the last few years, they've alternately called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" or "removed" and to be made to "disappear", called the Jewish state "a cancer", "arrogant", "a threat", an "illegitimate" and/or "fictitious" and/or "counterfeit regime", "a dirty microbe" (one of my personal favourites!), "a savage animal", a "disgraceful stain", "cruel", and many other colourful metaphors.

And the verbal assault has only heated up since Hezbollah's top commander, Imad Mughniyeh, was killed by a car bomb in Damascus on Feb. 12. Iran and other Arab states blame Israel for his death. Israel has denied any involvement.

It's gotten so bad that even Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of that staunch Israel ally, the UN, has asked Ahmadinejad to cool it.

At this rate, Iran will need to siphon off some of the cash it's using to build up its scary nuclear infrastructure and buy itself a new thesaurus.

Sticks and stones...