Iran's president on Sunday once more questioned who was behind the September 11 attacks in the United States and said they gave Washington a pretext for seeking to dominate the region and plunder its oil wealth. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said there were "hundreds of unanswered questions" concerning September 11 and offered Iran's help in arresting the perpetrators.
His comments continued the theme of his recent speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he claimed that a majority of people in the US and around the world believe the American government staged the attacks, drawing a strong rebuke from US President Barack Obama.
In Sunday's speech to an audience of military men and clerics in the town of Hashtgerd, Ahmadinejad also called for US leaders to be "buried" in response to what he says are American threats of military attack against Tehran's nuclear programme.
Ahmadinejad is known for brash rhetoric in addressing the West, but he went a step further on Sunday, using a deeply offensive insult in response to US statements that the military option against Iran is still on the table.
Several top US officials including Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff have said in recent months that the military option remains on the table and there is a plan to attack Iran, although a military strike has been described as a bad idea. Ahmadinejad's remarks come in sharp contrast to ones he made to Al-Jazeera Arabic news channel in August in which he offered the US Iran's friendship. AP
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