ATHENS, Greece — The Iranian president's widely condemned remarks about Israel and the Holocaust were "misunderstood" by Western governments, Iran's interior minister said today.

Speaking on the sidelines of an Athens conference on immigration, Mostafa Pur Mohammadi told The Associated Press: "Actually the case has been misunderstood. (President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) did not mean to raise this matter.

"He wanted to say that if certain people have created troubles for the Jewish community they should bear the expenses, and it is not others who should pay for that."

Ahmadinejad's comments Wednesday drew quick condemnations from Israel, the United States and Europe, which warned he is hurting Iran's position in talks aimed at resolving suspicions about his regime's nuclear program.

During a tour of southeastern Iran, Ahmadinejad said that if Europeans insist the Holocaust occurred, then they are responsible and should pay the price.

"Today, they have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion and the prophets," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in Zahedan. "If you committed this big crime, then why should the oppressed Palestinian nation pay the price?"

"This is our proposal: If you committed the crime, then give a part of your own land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to them so that the Jews can establish their country," he said in remarks carried live by state television.

In October, he provoked an international outcry by calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

European Union leaders meeting in Brussels, Belgium, warned in a draft statement today Ahmadinejad's remarks could be grounds for sanctions against Iran.

"These comments are wholly unacceptable and have no place in civilized political debate," the draft statement said.

Nations across the world have condemned Ahmadinejad's remarks. The White House said his words "only underscore why it is so important that the international community continue to work together to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons."