Ahmadinejad berates Western media

TEHRAN, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the Western media is manipulating facts and downplaying killings in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ahmadinejad made the comments Saturday in a speech to mark "Reporter's Day" in Tehran, Iran's government-backed Press TV reported.

Mainstream media makes the United States and its allies look like they're spreading democracy, but it is untrue, Ahmadinejad said.

"Hundreds of thousands of innocent people have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq" while the West "silences the press," he said.

"Iran is one of the most oppressed countries, but the Western media, funded by their governments, depict it as an aggressive nation through different journalistic tactics," Ahmadinejad said.

Ahmadinejad further blasted the West for using its media outlets as an instrument to launch psychological war against other nations.