Iran Takes Aim at US, Israel at UN Meeting

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is taking aim at the United States and Israel at a high-level U.N. meeting, accusing Washington of shielding what he calls a nuclear-armed “fake regime.”

The Iranian leader also alluded to the amateur anti-Islam video made in the U.S., accusing the United States and others of misusing freedom of speech and failing to speak out against the defamation of people’s beliefs and “divine prophets.”

Ahmadinejad blamed the “discriminatory” veto power of the U.S., China, Russia, Britain and France for the Security Council’s failure to ensure peace in the world, and he called for a change in the rules “in favor of nations with due regard to justice.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Monday’s meeting on promoting the rule of law to spotlight the need for all countries to establish well-functioning institutions and deliver justice.