Worldandnation: Saudi ambassador calls Holocaust 'fact'; leaders to chastise Iran

Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's new ambassador to the United States, took issue Thursday with the Iranian president's description of the Holocaust as a myth, saying the "horrific genocide" is a "historical fact" no longer in dispute. And European leaders warned Thursday that patience with Iran is running thin less than a week before envoys from Britain, France and Germany are to resume negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program. The comments by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, broadcast live Wednesday on state-run Iranian television, have been condemned by Western countries but Arab and other Muslim nations have remained largely silent. European Union foreign ministers drafted a statement condemning the remarks and calling them "totally unacceptable." The statement was expected to be formally issued today after an EU summit in Brussels. "As far as Saudi Arabia is concerned, that's a historical fact, you cannot deny that, and people should move forward from that," Turki said.