UNITED NATIONS — The United States on Thursday led a mass walkout of the UN General Assembly when Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched an outspoken attack on Western nations.
A US diplomat left halfway through the Iranian leader's speech, while the 27 European Union nations followed in a coordinated protest move.
The Iranian leader again cast doubt on the origins of the Holocaust and the September 11, 2001 attacks and criticized the United States for killing Osama bin Laden rather than bringing him to trial.
"Mr Ahmadinejad had a chance to address his own people's aspirations for freedom and dignity, but instead he again turned to abhorrent anti-Semitic slurs and despicable conspiracy theories," said US mission spokesman Mark Kornblau.
A French spokesman called Ahmadinejad's attacks "unacceptable" in a message sent on Twitter just after the walkout.
Earlier Ahmadinejad had offered to halt Iran's production of low-enriched uranium -- which can be a stepping stone to producing atomic weapons -- if the West supplied Tehran with the material in return.
Iran, accused by Western nations of seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, is under four sets of UN sanctions for refusing for years to bow to international demands to rein in uranium enrichment.
rest at
No comments:
Post a Comment