Ahmadinejad: Iran Not Walking Toward War

(CBS)  The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, knows how to infuriate the Western world and he did it again last week when he asked to visit ground zero. Ahmadinejad plans to be in New York this week for the U.N. General Assembly meeting. The man who questions the truth behind the Holocaust is expected to demand, once again, the elimination of Israel.

60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley spoke with Ahmadinejad on Thursday in the garden outside his office in Tehran. Pelley spoke to the president about America's angry reaction to his plan to visit the World Trade Center site. The president told 60 Minutes, in light of the objections, he wouldn't press for it.

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"Sir, what were you thinking?" Pelley asked. "The World Trade Center site is the most sensitive place in the American heart, and you must have known that visiting there would be insulting to many, many Americans."

"Why should it be insulting," Ahmadinajad said.

"Well, sir, you're the head of the government of an Islamist state that the United States government says is a major exporter of terrorism around the world," Pelley replied.

"We obviously are very much against any terrorist action and any killing. And also we are very much against any plots to sow the seeds of discord among nations," Ahmadinejad said. "Usually you go to these sites to pay your respects. And also to perhaps to air your views about the root causes of such incidents."

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Watch the full interview

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Ahmadinejad told Pelley the U.S. and Iran could be friends, but 60 Minutes wanted to know about the growing evidence that Iranian weapons and bomb components are being used against U.S. forces in Iraq.

"It is an established fact now that Iranian bombs and Iranian know-how are killing Americans in Iraq. You have American blood on your hands. Why?" Pelley asked.

"Well, this is what the American officials are saying. Again, American officials wherever around the world that they encounter a problem which they fail to resolve, instead of accepting that, they prefer to accuse others," the president replied. "I'm very sorry that because of the wrong decisions taken by American officials, Iraqi people are being killed and also American soldiers. It's very regrettable."

"The American Army has captured Iranian missiles in Iraq. The critical elements of the explosively formed penetrator bombs that are killing so many people are coming from Iran. There's no doubt about that anymore. The denials are no longer credible, sir," Pelley pointed out.

"Very good. If I may. Are you an American politician? Am I to look at you as an American politician or a reporter? This is what the American officials are claiming," Ahmadinejad replied. "If they accuse us 1,000 times, the truth will not change."

"Are you saying that it is not the policy of this government to send weapons into Iraq? Sir, forgive me, you're smiling, but this is a very serious matter to America," Pelley said.

"Well, it's serious for us as well. I daresay it's serious for everyone," Ahmadinejad told Pelley. "It seems to me it's laughable for someone to turn a blind eye to the truth and accuse others. It doesn't help. And the reason that I'm smiling, again, it's because that the picture is so clear. But American officials refuse to see it."

Asked if he could very simply and directly say that Iran is not sending weapons to Iraq, Ahmadinejad said, "We don't need to do that. We are very much opposed to war and insecurity…"

"Is that a 'No,' sir?" Pelley asked.

"…by Iraq. It's very clear the situation. The insecurity in Iraq is detrimental to our interests," Ahmadinejad said.

President Ahmadinejad is 50, with a wife and three grown kids. He's the son of a blacksmith, said to be very religious and incorruptible. He was elected two years ago largely by rural and poor voters. Back in the 1980's, during Iraq's ruinous invasion of Iran, he was reportedly an elite Army intelligence officer in the war with Saddam Hussein.

"Mr. President, you must have rejoiced more than anyone when Saddam Hussein fell. You owe President Bush. This is one of the best things that's ever happened to your country," Pelley said.

"Once the dictator was toppled, many people were happy," Ahmadinejad agreed. "But the American government did not appropriately use this golden opportunity. They should have left the Iraqi people to go their own way and to determine their own fate."

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[mbkij]

Scott Pelly, what an embarrassment! In the future, the producers of 60 Minutes should make a better selection (journalist, reporter, writer ... whatever) than Scott Pelly, a simple, average, American "Journalist" for interviewing a head of state. Scott Pelly was an embarrassment on the first interview with the President of Iran, clearly the blame for the second interview rest with 60 Minutes producers. And to think I though so highly of 60 Minutes, I recorded this broadcast. I just played it back a third time ... yep! It''s an embarrassment!

[mbkij]

Scott Pelly, what an embarrassment! In the future, the producers of 60 Minutes should make a better selection (journalist, reporter, writer ... whatever) than Scott Pelly, a simple, average, American "Journalist" for interviewing a head of state. Scott Pelly was an embarrassment on the first interview with the President of Iran, clearly the blame for the second interview rest with 60 Minutes producers. And to think I though so highly of 60 Minutes, I recorded this broadcast. I just played it back a third time ... yep! It''s an embarrassment!

[nina_hoff]

It%u2019s hard to believe that in less than an hour, single-handedly, Scott Pelley managed to wipe out from our minds all the significant reporting he had done throughout his career and replace it with disbelief and disgust for his now exposed narcissism and pro-Bush bias. Mr. Pelley, steeping too deep in your sea of arrogance sank you miserably. Your efforts on the CBS morning show the next day to balance out the terrible job that you had done was just as pathetic as your interview. You owe a big public apology to your country for having made it look so ignorant and stupid to the rest of the world. I hope your Emmy awards from the past keep you good company from here on, because we sure will no longer keep you company by tuning in to see your reports. If after years of being a journalist, you still can''t be respectful and professional towards your guest regardless of who he or she is, you don%u2019t deserve any respect or recognition from your audience. The only good that may come out of your childish and embarrassing interview is if the students at the Texas Tech Journalism School learn from the awkward and humiliating job that you did and know better to let their need to please a certain group of people overcome their better judgement. You better start thinking about what answer you would give to your children, when they are old and wise enough to ask you what the **** you were thinking handling this interview as inappropriately as you did, and why???

[mcinchap]

That was an interview? Scott Pelley got schooled. Personally, I find it hopeful to see that so many other Americans who have posted their comments are smart enough to see what''s going on and more importantly are no longer afraid to speak up about it. Our country needs an ***.

[simonmalthus]

Scott Pelley should be embarrassed.

[simonmalthus]

Scott Pelley should be embarrassed.

[simonmalthus]

Scott Pelley should be embarrassed.

[joewest3]

You can add me to the list of those who found this interview bizarre, embarrassing, surreal and so not 60 Minutes. What were you guys thinking. I thought Sean Hannity had entered Scott''s body.

[whyarts]

Ahmadinejad''s great sin is that he questions why Middle Easterners have been made to pay - with their homes, their lands, their lives and their children''s lives - for the European genocide of European Jews. He recognizes that oil is the reason for our obsession with the Middle East. Oil is the reason post-WWII Europe and America carved out a country in the Middle East to resettle Western Jews. Oil is why we''ve meddled for decades in Iran and why we invaded Iraq and won''t leave. It''s why we remain friendly with the ruling family of Saudi Arabia, the bin Ladens, even after 17 Saudi Arabians crashed airplanes into American buildings. Our need for oil is the thing we hate. We don''t want to know about it. We don''t want to hear someone tell us about it. We''d rather smear that man and ruin his country than listen to him tell us how desperately and ruthlessly we need his oil.

[smohan1950]

Did Steve Pelley remember to ask President Bush if he had "American blood on his hands"?