Presidential hopeful Mir-Hossein Moussavi hits out at Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying his "flaunting" official line has backfired.

Moussavi, who took part in a heated debate with the incumbent president on Wednesday, labeled Ahmadinejad policies as 'unstable', 'flaunting' and based on sloganeering and adventurism.

"We have been hearing that Israel, France and the US are on the verge of collapse for the past four years. Our foreign policies have therefore been formulated based on predictions which will undoubtedly throw us off the right course," the former prime minister said.

He touched on President Ahmadinejad's Holocaust remarks and insisted that they had cost the country dearly.

"It prompted Europeans, who were in conflict with Israel in the aftermath of the recent Gaza attack, to once again line up behind Tel Aviv," Moussavi said in reference to Ahmadinejad's speech at the UN-backed Durban Review Conference against racism, xenophobia and intolerance held in Geneva in April.

President Ahmadinejad delivered a speech in which he criticized Israel at the conference, which prompted delegates from some 30 countries to walk out in protest. The diplomats who remained, however, applauded the Iranian president and urged him to continue his speech.

"What kind of heroic act was that, it only led to another resolution in support of the Holocaust," Moussavi continued.

In response, President Ahmadinejad defended his polices and reiterated that his performance in the international arena had gave Iran "dignity".

Iran will hold its 10th presidential elections on June 12. The candidates include the incumbent Iranian president, the country's last prime minister Mir-Hossein Moussavi, former Majlis speaker Mehdi Karroubi and former IRGC chief Mohsen Rezaei.

AR/HGH/AA