Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday that the U.S. administration of President Barack Obama killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden as part of its propaganda to secure victory in the next U.S. presidential election, the English language satellite Press TV reported.

"The U.S. killed bin Laden not to fight terrorism and not to eradicate groups it claims as terrorist but as (a part of) its election propaganda to win people's votes," said Ahmadinejad in a meeting with participants in a conference on terrorism in Tehran.

He said that he had "precise information" that bin Laden was being held by U.S. military for a long time before his death, said the report.

Earlier this month, U.S. president Barack Obama announced that a U.S. operation killed bin Laden outside the Pakistani capital Islamabad and hailed the terrorist leader's death as the "most significant achievement" in U.S. efforts to defeat al-Qaida.