Iranian President Ahmadinejad proposes debate with Bush at U.N. General Assembly this month

(AP) Iran's president proposed Wednesday that he and President Bush should hold a public debate, and suggested that the U.N. General Assembly later this month would be the perfect place.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad first proposed last month that he and Bush should debate, and the White House had dismissed the idea, saying it was a "diversion" from the concerns the international community has about Iran's nuclear program.

In a speech to a religious conference, Ahmadinejad said the U.N. would allow Americans and people around the world to watch and listen to such a debate without censorship, according to his official Web site.

In his latest overture, Ahmadinejad said Bush would be able to bring advisers to the debate.

"We are ready to discuss the ways of managing the world for achieving justice, peace, friendship and removing violations and threats," he said in the speech, according to the Web site.

"We proposed the debate to say that the period of bullying has expired, but false advocators of democracy avoided it because of their arrogance and lack of logic," Ahmadinejad also said, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said he had "no particular comment" about Ahmadinejad's offer, although the secretary-general supports efforts to resolve differences over Iran's nuclear program.

Dujarric demurred when reporters asked if the September meeting, known as the General Debate, would be a suitable place for such a debate.

"I'm just not going to go down this road, I've decided," Dujarric said.

The United Nations headquarters has no formal debating facility, although one of its numerous conference rooms could certainly be used.

On Tuesday, Bush said a nuclear-armed Iran would raise a mortal threat to the American people and would blackmail the free world.

"I am not going to allow this to happen," Bush said in a speech on terrorism. "And no future American president can allow it, either."

Iran faces the threat of sanctions after refusing a demand from the U.N. Security Council to halt its uranium enrichment program.

Tehran insists that its nuclear activities are designed to produce civilian power and are within its rights. But Washington and other nations fear it is seeking nuclear weapons.

Russia and China, which are both veto-wielding members of the Security Council and have key trade ties with Tehran, have urged patience with Iran. European nations remain hesitant to call a halt to three years of talks, with Britain the firmest backer of the U.S. drive for punitive measures.