Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of U.S. Attack, and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record
In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a U.S. attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran


Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week while the International Atomic Energy Agency–or IAEA–is meeting in Vienna to discuss Iran"s alleged nuclear program. An IAEA report earlier this month criticized Iran for failing to fully respond to questions about its nuclear activities.

The European Union told the IAEA Wednesday that it believes Iran is moving closer to being able to arm a nuclear warhead. Iran could face a fourth set of Security Council sanctions over its nuclear activities but this week Russia has refused to meet with the US on this issue.

The Iranian President refuted the IAEA’s charges in his speech to the General Assembly and accused the agency of succumbing to political pressure. He also welcomed talks with the United States if it cut back threats to use military force against Iran.

As with every visit of the Iranian president to New York, some groups protested outside the UN. But this year President Ahmadinejad also met with a large delegation of American peace activists concerned with the escalating possibility of a war with Iran.

Yesterday afternoon Juan and I sat down with President Ahmadinejad in his hotel blocks from the UN for a wide-ranging discussion about US-Iran relations, Iran’s nuclear program, the threat of war with the United States, the Israel-Palestine conflict, human rights in Iran and much more.

Ervand Abrahamian, CUNY Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College, City University of New York. He is the author of several books on Iran, most recently “A History of Modern Iran.”


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