Protests outside UN during Ahmadinejad speech

UNITED NATIONS - Dozens of demonstrators met Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's scorn for his critics with some biting criticism of their own, calling the Iranian president hypocritical for chiding Western powers for possessing nuclear weapons while cracking down on pro-democracy elements in Iran.

The protesters aired their complaints as Ahmadinejad addressed diplomats at the opening of the conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Monday, taking shots at the United States and Israel.

In his speech, Ahmadinejad called possession of nuclear weapons "shameful," an apparent reference to the United States and other western nations.

"The possession of nuclear bombs is not a source of pride," he said. "It is rather disgusting and shameful. And even more shameful is the threat to use or to use such weapons."

He called the United States, the only nation to have used nuclear weapons on civilians, in World War II, "among the most hated in history."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Ahmadinejad's speech was full of "wild accusations" and a ploy to mask his lack of compliance with the treaty.

"This is a distraction from the real issue in Iran," said protester Saara Azadi, of Brooklyn, a member of Where Is My Vote - New York, which formed after Iran's crackdown on citizens who believe Ahmadinejad's election last June was fraudulent. "The issue is not about the election any more but it's about human rights in Iran."

Azadi's group was one of several standing across the street from the UN General Assembly building where Ahmadinejad used the podium to make the case that the nuclear power he seeks is for peaceful purposes.

Some members of the 15-member Security Council, including the United States, have been mulling sanctions on Iran in response to its reluctance to fully document its nuclear program.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Iran the only state at the conference that was in violation of the treaty's requirements.

"Iran has defied the international community" and "acted with impunity," Clinton said yesterday.