Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s scheduled visit here next week has triggered a controversy, with the city denying his request to tour the site of the destroyed World Trade Center and angry reactions coming in over his plans to speak at a premier university.A report from Tehran said Ahmadinejad, who is arriving in New York on Sunday and will address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, will not press for visiting the Ground Zero to pay homage to 9/11 victims after the authorities denied permission to him citing ongoing construction and security concerns.Besides addressing the 192-member Assembly, Ahmadinejad is scheduled to participate in a question-and- answer session with students and faculty members of the prestigious Columbia University as a part of the World Leaders Forum.Columbia University’s decision came under attack from City Council speaker Christine Quinn who shot off a letter to the institution, saying the idea of Ahmadinejad as an honoured guest anywhere in the city is “offensive to all New Yorkers.”Republican presidential hopeful John McCain accused the Iranian President of helping insurgents in Iraq attack US troops and said he should not be given an invitation to speak at an American university. Columbia spokesman Robert Hornsby, however, said that there was no plan to cancel the appearance.
