Iran president slams 'bullying' US at UN Assembly
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has told world leaders that some "bullying" powers are trying to thwart Iran's peaceful nuclear ambitions but Tehran will resist and defend its right to nuclear power.
In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Mr Ahmadinejad railed against the United States and other powers, saying they had been manipulated by Zionists.
He also reiterated that Tehran's nuclear ambitions were purely peaceful.
"The great Iranian people... will resist the bullying and has defended and will defend its rights," he said.
"The Iranian nation is for dialogue. But it has not accepted and will not accept illegal demands."
Mr Ahmadinejad, who has said in the past Israel should be wiped off the map, said there is growing resistance in the world to the aggression and acquisitiveness of "bullying powers," a phrase he used repeatedly to refer to the United States and its allies.
"Today, the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse, and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters," he said, referring to Israel.
"American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road and its next rulers must limit their interference to their own borders," he said.
- Reuters
