Following are excerpts from an interview with Iranian Vice President Esfandyar Rahim Mashai, which aired on Al-Manar TV on July 28, 2008. Mashai reportedly said earlier this week that Iran is the friend of the citizens in Israel and the U.S. The translation is based on the Arabic voiceover.

Esfandyar Rahim Mashai: The Islamic Republic of Iran did not, does not, and will not accept the legitimacy of this Zionist entity. No Iranian citizen or party will ever accept this...

...The world should know that the Zionist regime is plundering and illegitimate. Its existence does not serve the interests of humanity. It is harmful to everybody. The plundering Zionist entity is close to its end. In my view, this regime is dead, and they are only postponing its funeral, while others believe that it is only in the process of dying. In any case, the era of the so-called Zionist entity has come to an end. This entity cannot confront the believing men of Hizbullah. We have seen how it admitted defeat after 33 days of aggression. Following that defeat, it is now among the dead. Therefore, we now witness consecutive victories by our brothers, the resistance fighters.