Iranian leader defends confrontational stance toward West

AFP, September, 2008

NEW YORK, (AFP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad justified his policy of confronting the West by saying US troops are surrounding Iran.

Interviewed by National Public Radio (NPR) about his stance, Ahmadinejad replied: "I'd like to ask you, is it the Iranian (army) that's around the territories around the country, or is it the US troops that are around?

"It is the US troops around our borders. It is not ours around the American borders. So what exactly are they doing over there?" he asked.

Despite three rounds of UN Security Council sanctions, Iran continues to defy calls by the United States and its negotiating partners to halt uranium enrichment -- a process the West fears is being used to make an atomic bomb.

Iran says its aims are peaceful...