Ahmadinejad challenges U.N., Bush

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1:12 p.m.

TEHRAN -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today challenged the authority of the U.N. Security Council as Iran faces a deadline to halt its uranium enrichment, and he called for a televised debate with President Bush on world issues.

The Security Council has given Iran until Thursday to suspend enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for a reactor or material for weapons, or face economic and political sanctions.

"The U.S. and Britain are the source of many tensions," Mr. Ahmadinejad said at a news conference. "At the Security Council, where they have to protect security, they enjoy the veto right. If anybody confronts them, there is no place to take complaints to.

"This [veto right] is the source of problems of the world. ... It is an insult to the dignity, independence, freedom and sovereignty of nations," he said.

Mr. Ahmadinejad challenged Mr. Bush to a live, televised debate on "world issues and the ways of solving the problems of the international community."

The White House has thus far refused all offers of direct dealings with Iranian officials. There was no immediate response from Washington to Mr. Ahmadinejad's offer.

Iran says its nuclear program is intended solely to generate electricity, while the United States and Europe contend it secretly aims to develop weapons.

Mr. Ahmadinejad rejected any suspension of enrichment, even if U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan asks for it during an upcoming visit to Iran.

"The use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is the right of the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation has chosen this path. ... No one can prevent it," he said.