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Iran's leader delivers NY speech Iran president in NY campus clash
(about 2 hours later)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has begun speaking at New York's Columbia University, despite protests in the United States. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has clashed with the head of New York's Columbia University while making his controversial appearance at the campus.
Many Americans say he should not have been invited to speak. Columbia President Lee Bollinger described Mr Ahmadinejad as a "cruel dictator" who denied the Holocaust.
The US accuses Iran of seeking to build a nuclear bomb and arming insurgents in Iraq - Tehran rejects the charges. In response, Mr Ahmadinejad called the remarks "an insult", adding that more research was needed on the Holocaust.
Mr Ahmadinejad has been denied a visit to Ground Zero, with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying that "it would have been a travesty". He again defended Tehran's right to have "a peaceful nuclear energy" and said there were no homosexuals in Iran.
Speaking to US media earlier, Mr Ahmadinejad said that Iran is not heading for war with the US.
Washington accuses Iran of seeking to build a nuclear bomb and arming insurgents in Iraq - Tehran rejects the charges.
Mr Ahmadinejad has been denied a visit to the site of the 11 September attacks in New York in 2001, with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying that "it would have been a travesty".
"This is somebody who is the president of a country that is probably the greatest sponsor - state sponsor - of terrorism," Ms Rice told CNBC television."This is somebody who is the president of a country that is probably the greatest sponsor - state sponsor - of terrorism," Ms Rice told CNBC television.
The Iranian leader is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, where he is due to speak on Tuesday. 'Brazen'
Speaking to US media, he has said that Iran is not heading for war with the US and Tehran has no need of nuclear bombs. Mr Ahmadinejad was invited to Columbia University to address its students at the university's World Leaders Forum.
He received a hostile welcome from Mr Bollinger, who described the Iranian leader as "a petty and cruel dictator".
"You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated," Mr Bollinger told Mr Ahmadinejad, referring to his denial of the Holocaust.
In response, Mr Ahmadinejad said that Mr Bollinger's remarks were "an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience".
Addressing the Holocaust issue, Mr Ahmadinejad said he simply wanted more research to be done.
He also said the issue was abused by Israel to justify what he said was its mistreatment of the Palestinians.
"Why is it that the Palestinian people are paying the price for an event they had nothing to do with?" Mr Ahmadinejad asked.
'Evil has landed''Evil has landed'
New York tabloids - and several Jewish groups in the US - have condemned Mr Ahmadinejad's scheduled appearance at Columbia. Many Americans had said he should not have been invited to speak.
In political relations right now, the nuclear bomb is of no use Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The New York Daily News's front page headline on Monday read "The Evil Has Landed", while the New York Post described Mr Ahmadinejad as "Madman Iran Prez".The New York Daily News's front page headline on Monday read "The Evil Has Landed", while the New York Post described Mr Ahmadinejad as "Madman Iran Prez".
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the university on Sunday with placards saying: "Don't give a platform to hate," and calling the Iranian leader a "Hitler wannabe".Dozens of protesters gathered outside the university on Sunday with placards saying: "Don't give a platform to hate," and calling the Iranian leader a "Hitler wannabe".
Mr Ahmadinejad has called in the past for an end to the Israeli state and described the Holocaust as a "myth".Mr Ahmadinejad has called in the past for an end to the Israeli state and described the Holocaust as a "myth".
Columbia President Lee Bollinger on Monday defended the university's invitation, saying it was a question of free speech and academic freedom. Mr Bollinger defended the university's invitation, saying it was a question of free speech and academic freedom.
"It's extremely important to know who the leaders are of countries that are your adversaries," Mr Bollinger told ABC's "Good Morning America".
"To watch them to see how they think, to see how they reason or do not reason. To see whether they're fanatical, or to see whether they are sly," he added.
Tickets to the event were snatched up within an hour of becoming available.Tickets to the event were snatched up within an hour of becoming available.
The Iranian leader is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, where he is due to speak on Tuesday.