Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has disregarded a UN warning to avoid incendiary rhetoric and has declared ahead of the annual General Assembly session that Israel has no roots in the Middle East and will be “eliminated”.
In remarks to reporters in New York, he also said he did not take seriously the threat that Israel could launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, denied sending arms into Syria and called economic conditions in his sanctions-hit country “not as bad as they are portrayed”.
Iran denies it is seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic work is aimed at generating electricity.
Mr Ahmadinejad is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly. His speech is scheduled for tomorrow. – (Reuters)