NPod Responds

He gets Amir Taheri to cite his Khomeini quote as existing in an out-of-print compilation of Khomeini quotes from 1981. It appears that Podhoretz originally used the quote without knowing of its provenance. Taheri, whose reliability has come under suspicion before, says the remark was purged or censored or removed in subsequent editions of the book. I have no independent way of confirming any of this. Taheri, it should be noted, was the source of the story that Iran had recently required that Jews wear yellow stars in public, a story that was subsequently debunked. Maybe other Iran specialists can weigh in on whether the original alleged Khomeini quote is legit or bears in any way on the current debate about attacking Iran.