Undertaker required

Iranian President Ahmadinejad wants US leaders buried for threats against Tehran's nuclear program

Iranian President Ahmadinejad wants US leaders buried for threats against Tehran's nuclear program

Iran's president yesterday called for US leaders to be "buried" in response to what he says are American threats of military attack against Tehran's nuclear program.

Loudmouth: Ahmadinejad likened the United States to a farm animal trapped in a quagmire. File pic

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, known for brash rhetoric in addressing the West, but in a speech yesterday he went a step further using a deeply offensive insult in response to US statements that the military option against Iran is still on the table.

"May the undertaker bury you, your table and your body, which has soiled the world," he said using language in Iran reserved for hated enemies.

Several top US officials including Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff have said in recent months that the military option remains on the table and there is a plan to attack Iran, although a military strike has been described as a bad idea.

The speech was broadcast by both state television and the official English-language TV, but the latter glossed over the insult in the simultaneous translation.

Ahmadinejad's remarks come in sharp contrast to ones he made to Al-Jazeera Arabic news channel in August in which he offered the US Iran's friendship.

In yesterday's speech, Ahmadinejad also questioned once more who was behind the September 11 attacks in the US and said they gave Washington a pretext for seeking to dominate the region and plunder its oil wealth.

During his speech in front of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he said a majority of people in the US and around the world believe the American government staged the attacks, drawing a strong rebuke from President Barack Obama.

Ahmadinejad often resorts to provocative statements to lash out at enemies. He has already compared the power of Iran's enemies to a "mosquito," and has likened the United States to a "farm animal trapped in a quagmire" in Afghanistan.

Iran also condemned the latest US sanctions slapped on eight Iranian officials Wednesday, saying they show American interference in Tehran's domestic affairs.