Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hit out against Israel and the US in a speech that shed no new light on the country’s nuclear strategy.
Mr Ahmadinejad accused Israel of ‘inhuman policies’ in the Palestinian territories and of dominating world political and economic affairs in his speech to the UN General Assembly, just hours after US President Barack Obama spoke.
The Iranian president did not directly mention Tehran's nuclear standoff.
Mr Ahmadinejad said Iran strongly defended its legitimate and legal right to nuclear power.
He called for the ‘eradication of arms race and elimination of all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons to pave the way for all nations to have access to advanced and peaceful technologies.’
‘Our nation is prepared to warmly shake all those hands which are honestly extended to us,’ he said.
Mr Ahmadinejad accused foreign forces of spreading ‘war, bloodshed, aggression, terror and intimidation’ in the Middle East, citing the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On Israel, the Iranian leader said ‘the awakening of nations and the expansion of freedom worldwide will no longer allow them to continue their hypocrisy and vicious attitudes.’
‘How can one imagine that the inhuman policies in Palestine may continue?’ he asked.
Iran refuses to recognise Israel.
‘How can crimes of the occupiers against defenceless women and children and destruction of their homes, farms, hospitals and schools be supported unconditionally by certain governments?’ The Iranian leader said it was time for the world to respond.
Several delegations, including that of the US, left the hall around the time of his comments apparently directed at Israel.
The hall remained at least half full throughout the speech, which drew little reaction from delegates.
Sanctions possible
In his maiden speech to the 192-member assembly, watched intently by Mr Ahmadinejad, Mr Obama warned that Tehran and Pyongyang's nuclear push had put the world on a ‘dangerous slope.’
‘If the governments of Iran and North Korea choose to ignore international standards, if they put the pursuit of nuclear weapons ahead of regional stability and the security and opportunity of their own people... then they must be held accountable,’ he told world leaders.
‘Serious additional sanctions remain a possibility,’ Mr Obama said, urging Tehran to ‘seize the opportunity’ at key talks with six major powers scheduled for 1 October in Geneva.
Later today, Mr Obama will chair a meeting of the UN Security Council that is expected to ask nations with nuclear weapons to scrap their deadly arsenals.
