Iranian President Talks At U.S. Think Tank

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (file photo) (Fars)

September 21, 2006 -- Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad held an informal question-and-answer session in New York with members of a prestigious foreign policy think tank.

The Council on Foreign Relations said Ahmadinejad engaged in a spirited debate with 19 members for about 90 minutes in a New York City hotel late on September 20. But the Council said the Iranian leader offered no new policies or opinions.

The subjects ranged from Iran's disputed nuclear program to the Holocaust.

The trip to the think tank was controversial, provoking protests from American Jewish groups.

Ahmadinejad has called the Holocaust a "myth" and has demanded more research to determine whether 6 million Jews really perished in World War II.

(AP, The New York Times)