German politicians, Jewish leaders slam Schroeder for Ahmadinejad meet

German politicians and Jewish community representatives harshly criticized former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran on Saturday.

Schroeder, who is a senior manager at the Russian energy giant Gazprom, arrived in Tehran on Thursday for an unofficial four-day visit, facilitated by an Iranian doctor who heads a Hanover-based neurobiology research institute.

By meeting with Ahmadinejad, "Schroeder has harmed the image of the German government and of the whole of Germany," said Stephan Kramer, secretary general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.

Eckart von Klaeden, a senior official from the ruling party, the CDU, said the meeting with Schroeder "serves Ahmadinejad's election campaign well." Ahmadinejad will be running for office in June this year. The meeting drew criticism from the Greens party as well.

But on his visit, Schroeder himself criticized Ahmadinejad for casting doubt over the Holocaust, saying the slaughter of 6 million Jews by Nazis was a fact.

"The Holocaust is a historic fact, and there is no sense in denying this unparalleled crime," Schroeder told the Iranian Chamber of Industry and Commerce on Friday. "Iran needs to take responsibility and respect international rules, if it wants to be taken seriously as a regional power."

The former chancellor also called for opening direct talks between Tehran and U.S. President Barack Obama's administration.