Plot claim meant to cause rift between Iran, S. Arabia: Ahmadinejad

Mehr News - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, has said that an alleged plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington was fabricated by the U.S. to cause a rift between Tehran and Riyadh, and divert attention from U.S. economic problems.

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera in Tehran on Monday, Ahmadinejad said that anyone who hears the claims "laughs", but warned the U.S. to be mindful of the allegations it makes.

"We're not worried about expressing our opposition ... The U.S. administration is sorely mistaken. The U.S. administration might want to divert attention from what's going on inside the U.S.," he said, speaking through a translator, during an interview broadcast live.

"The economic problems of the U.S. are very serious, and by accusing Iran it's not going to solve any problem."

Categorical rejection

Pressed to give a firm answer as to whether or not the U.S. plot allegations carried merit, Ahmadinejad said: "We have categorically rejected this accusation."

"Terror is for people...who don't have any logic. The people of Iran are pro-logic," he said.

Last week U.S. authorities charged that two Iranians were involved in the "plot directed by elements of the Iranian government" to kill the Saudi ambassador as part of a major "terror" attack.

On being told that Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, had told the UN chief that there was strong evidence linking Iran to the murder plot, Ahmadinejad described the UN and its Security Council as undemocratic.

"The Security Council is dominated by the U.S., and the U.S. has been against us for 30 years. The UN is not really the UN because the General Assembly is not the decision-making body. At the UN everything is ruled by a body in which there are five countries," he said.

U.S. 'interference'

Ahmadinejad also said the U.S. "terror plot" allegations were constructed on false evidence designed to cause conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran and "create some conflicts and discord" within his country.

Later in the interview, the Iranian president said that Iran and the U.S. were not on a collision course, but that the core of the issue between the two nations is America's "interference" in the region.

Addressing the U.S., he said: "Keep your interference to yourself" - before clarifying that Iran has "always had respect for the people of the U.S. We love them. We love Americans".