Is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad itching for war?

That would seem to be the case, given what he said in an interview:

During a meeting with protesting students at Iran's Interior Ministry, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad quoted a remark from Ayatollah Khomeini, founder of Iran's Islamic revolution, that Israel "must be wiped out from the map of the world."

The president then said: "And God willing, with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism," according to a quote published by Iran's state news outlet, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Such a statement is reason to worry. A big reason, and to worry a lot. The reaction has been of severe condemnation from several of the world capitals, and Israel's vice premier has understandably called for Tehran to be expelled from the United Nations.

Israel's Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres said Iran should be expelled from the United Nations.

"Since 1945, the establishment of the United Nations, no head of state which is a member of the United Nations ever called for the destruction of another member of the United Nations, publicly and clearly, as the president of Iran did," said Peres, a Nobel peace laureate.

"It is against the charter of the United Nations, it is against the practice of the United Nations, and you cannot have a charter where some of the people are for peace and self-defense and the other half for the destruction of it."

Naturally, this is all the more troubling given the fact that Iran might be developing nuclear weapons:

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Ahmadinejad's views "underscores our concern and the international community's concerns about Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons."

And it's not just the US. This morning I heard on the radio that British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that that kind of talk could justify a preemptive strike against Iran. Canada mentioned the Islamic country's nuclear ambitions as adding to the gravity of the statement. And in Europe, France, Germany, and Britain, the three countries currently involved in negotiations with Iran to avert sanctions (or worse) in exchange for Iran renouncing its nuclear ambitions, all called in their respective Iranian ambassadors to demand an explanation for the incident.

Troubling times loom ahead.