President Shimon Peres Thursday called upon the Iranian people to topple the regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Speaking at the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, Peres blamed the Iranian president for harming the chances for peace in the Middle East. He urged the international community to encourage the Iranian people to bring down Ahmadinejad.

“The Iranians turned Gaza into a base for launching rockets against Israel, and Hizbullah almost destroyed Lebanon,” Peres said. “The international community needs to cause people in Iran to believe that they can topple their government. Iran is the only nation in the world that openly calls for the destruction of another country – Israel.”

Peres took part in a special discussion on the Middle East, alongside Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad.