Ahmadinejad's 9/11 speech prompts U.S. walkout
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Iran and the United States got the most attention on Thursday at the opening of general debate at the 65th UN General Assembly session, with Iran prompting the drama of a walkout.
![Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the 65th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 23, 2010. [Xinhua/AFP Photo]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20100924/0011432100f50e065ad707.jpg "Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the 65th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 23, 2010. [Xinhua/AFP Photo]") |
| Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the 65th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 23, 2010. [Xinhua/AFP Photo] |
U.S. President Barack Obama plunked for a peace accord in the Middle East and Iranian President Ahmadinejad garnered drama by provoking a walkout by the Washington delegation, asserted 9/11 was a scheme to aid Israel.
Several others of the 30 plus speakers touched on their national problems and those of the Middle East.
The U.S. president, reflecting on the challenges of his first 20 months in office and how he has dealt with them, traditionally has the second speaking position at the annual debate, but this time slipped to the third slot apparently so he could speak at his White House-advertised time of 10 a.m. EDT.
Obama recalled offering Iran an extended hand last year here.
"Iran is the only party to the NPT (nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty) that cannot demonstrate the peaceful intentions of its nuclear program, and those actions have consequences," he said, adding that UN Security Council sanctions underscored his position.
"The United States and the international community seek a resolution to our differences with Iran, and the door remains open to diplomacy should Iran choose to walk through it," the president said.
Turning to his pledge last year to see "two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security," he recalled the opening of direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
Waving skeptics aside, he said, "If an agreement is not reached, Palestinians will never know the pride and dignity that comes with their own state. Israelis will never know the certainty and security that comes with sovereign and stable neighbors who are committed to coexistence. The hard realities of demography will take hold. More blood will be shed. This Holy Land will remain a symbol of our differences, instead of our common humanity."
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