US tried to kill me - Ahmadinejad
2008-06-20 14:35
Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States and its allies of plotting to assassinate him during a visit to neighbouring Iraq in March, state radio reported on Friday.
"Based on reliable intelligence, our enemies had plans to
kidnap and kill your servant (Ahmadinejad). But we intentionally
made last minute changes in our schedule," the radio quoted
Ahmadinejad telling a meeting of clerics in the Shi'ite holy
city of Qom on Thursday.
Although he did not identify the United States by name, he
used the usual term "enemies" to refer to Washington.
A senior US military official in Baghdad said: "The
Coalition is unaware of any threats to President Ahmadinejad's
life during his visit to Iraq."
Cancelled visit
During the first visit by an Iranian leader to Iraq since
the neighbours fought an eight-year war in the 1980s,
Ahmadinejad cancelled his scheduled visit to Shi'ite holy cities
of Karbala and Najaf in southern Iraq.
The presidential office said at the time the trip was
cancelled for security reasons.
"The enemies learned about the changes when we already had
left Iraq. They were shocked," the radio quoted him as saying.
The United States accuses Iran of funding, arming and
training Shi'ite militias in Iraq. Iran denies the charge.
Ahmadinejad, who often berates Washington in fiery speeches,
used his visit to Baghdad to call on the United States to
withdraw its troops from Iraq, insisting their presence is to
blame for the country's sectarian violence.
Iran and the United States cut diplomatic ties shortly after
the revolution when the US embassy was seized by hardline
students and 52 Americans were taken hostages for 444 days.
Warm reception
Ahmadinejad said his warm reception by Shi'ite and Kurdish
leaders were in stark contrast to the rushed and secretive
visits of US President George W Bush.
"I was the first head of government who made previous
announcements about my trip to Iraq," he was quoted as saying.
"British and American leaders had stayed only a few hours in
Iraq and had not stayed there for two days, like I did."
Both Iran and Iraq are run by Shi'ite majorities and many of
Iraq's Shi'ite leaders were in exile in Iran during Saddam
Hussein's rule. The countries also have historical economic,
political and cultural links.
Tehran and Washington are also at odds over Iran's nuclear
programme, which Washington says is a cover to build nuclear
weapons. Tehran denies the charge, saying it needs nuclear power
to generate electricity.