Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said the Holocaust was a ‘myth’, reiterating comments that sparked outrage around the world.

‘The very existence of this regime is an insult to the dignity of the people,’ the hardliner said as he addressed the annual Quds Day rally in Tehran referring to Israel.

‘They (Western powers) launched the myth of the Holocaust. They lied, they put on a show and then they support the Jews.’

‘If as you claim the Holocaust is true, why can a study not be allowed?’ the Iranian president said to chants of ‘Death to Israel’ from the crowd gathered for the annual display of solidarity with the Palestinians.

‘The pretext for establishing the Zionist regime is a lie... a lie which relies on an unreliable claim, a mythical claim, and the occupation of Palestine has nothing to do with the Holocaust,’ he added.

Similar comments made by Mr Ahmadinejad shortly after his first election as president in 2005 also sparked an international outcry.