By RIA Novosti,
Tehran : Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday promised to provide proof that the US was behind an attempt on his life planned during his visit to Iraq in March.
“During the visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (to Iran in June), I told him about an assassination attempt (in March) and reiterated that I would make public all the details if the Americans denied their involvement,” Ahmadinejad told a news conference in Tehran.
He mentioned the assassination attempt for the first time last week and said only changes to his schedule had foiled the plot. However, the West and even some inner Iranian circles dismissed his allegations.
“I raised the assassination issue, and the main culprit, which is the US government, could not disprove my words… we all know why,” he said.
Ahmadinejad, 51, who became president in 2005, is a strong critic of the West and has also called for Israel “to be wiped off the map”.
Western nations have accused Iran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons programme, an allegation Iran has been denying. It insists that its nuclear programme was of peaceful purpose.