UNITED NATIONS (Sept. 23) - Under increasing attack over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday that Tehran was ready to meet conciliation with conciliation.
Ahmadinejad spoke to a half-empty chamber as he sought to cast himself as a beleaguered champion of the developing world, that he portrayed as under attack from rapacious capitalism.
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Richard Drew, AP
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed a half-empty chamber at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday. The U.S. delegation walked out when he launched stinging attacks on United States, Israel and the West.
At the same time, the Iranian leader issue stinging attacks on the United States and its allies without calling them by name, prompting a walkout by the U.S. delegation.
Ahmadinejad made only passing reference to the nuclear issue, a call for global nuclear disarmament.
Moments before he spoke, foreign ministers of six global powers told reporters on the sidelines of the General Assembly that they expect Iran to come clean about its nuclear program. Tougher sanctions against Iran are being considered if talks between the powers and Iran on the issue, set for Oct. 1, don't yield results.
At times, Ahmadinejad struck a softer tone, declaring that Tehran was "prepared to warmly shake all those hands which are honestly extended to us." He peppered his speech with religious references, invoking the prophets of Judaism and Christianity, as well as Islam.
Yet most of the speech focused on his usual themes — scathing verbal attacks on archenemy Israel and the West.
He assailed Israel for what he said was a "barbaric" attack on the Gaza Strip last winter. He also accused the West of hypocrisy, saying it preached democracy, but violated its fundamental principles.
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General Assembly Photos
Reza Ronaghian, left, leads an Iranian protest outside the United Nations headquarters against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmdinejad, as he prepares to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Wednesday Sept. 23, 2009. (AP Photos/Bebeto Matthews)
AP
AP
Turning to domestic affairs, Ahmadinejad insisted he won a "large majority" in June elections. Pro-reform opposition politicians have alleged electoral fraud, and Ahmadinejad has been at the center of political turmoil since then.
In earlier speeches to the General Assembly, U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and others had taken Iran to task for its nuclear ambitions.
The U.S. and its allies believe Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons, despite Tehran's assertion that it is only building a peaceful nuclear energy program.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has not been forthcoming about its nuclear program, and the U.N. Security Council has imposed sanctions against Iran three times since 2006 for its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment.
Talks are scheduled for Oct. 1 between six global powers and Iran, and Obama wants to pursue tougher sanctions if those meetings yield nothing. Ahmadinejad has said he expects "free and open" discussions at that meeting, but that Iran will not negotiate uranium enrichment.
Russia has stood in the way of stronger action against Tehran in the past, but Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday, after a meeting with Obama, that "in some cases sanctions are inevitable."
On Thursday, a high-level meeting of the U.N. Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution calling for a more intense global campaign to reduce the threat of nuclear proliferation. It does not name countries, but refers to previous resolutions that imposed sanctions on Iran and North Korea.
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