Ahmadinejad says Iran won't be bullied

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday his country would not let "a few bullying powers" hinder its nuclear development program.

Ahmadinejad, in remarks to the U.N. General Assembly, said the United States and other countries were pressuring the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency in its oversight of Tehran's nuclear program.

"They are not against weapons, but opposed to other nations' progress," he said through an interpreter. "The Iranian nation is for dialogue. But it has not accepted and will not accept illegal demands."

He said the IAEA has signed off on Iran's nuclear program, even though the IAEA says it hasn't received the full accounting it requested from Iran. The Iranian president said his country's nuclear aspirations were peaceful.

Ahmadinejad also blasted Israel, saying American and European people "were being played with" by Zionists -- he never referenced the country by name -- who dominate financial and political centers. The Iranian leader in the past has called for the state of Israel to be eliminated.

"Today, the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse, and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters," he said.

Concerning the United, States, Ahmadinejad said, "The American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road. And its next rulers must limit their interference to their own borders."

Top members of the U.S. and Israeli delegations to the U.N. General Assembly attended Ahmadinejad's speech.