In an interview with CNN, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani distanced himself from the denial of the Nazi Holocaust espoused by his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani: “Any crime that happens in history against humanity, including the crime that the Nazis committed towards the Jews, as well as non-Jewish people, is reprehensible and condemnable, as far as we are concerned. This does not mean that on the other hand you can say, 'Well, the Nazis committed crimes against, you know, a certain group; now, therefore, they must usurp the land of another group and occupy it.' This, too, is an act that should be condemned, in our view.”

Rouhani has been in New York this week for the U.N. General Assembly.