West nuke concern a lie: Ahmadinejad

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Western nations on Wednesday of hypocrisy and said their expressions of concern over nuclear programmes were a 8216;8216;big lie8217;8217;.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Western nations on Wednesday of hypocrisy and said their expressions of concern over nuclear programmes were a 8216;8216;big lie8217;8217;.

The Iranian leader was speaking on a visit to fellow Muslim nation Indonesia, which said Tehran had been receptive to its offer to help mediate the Islamic republic8217;s dispute with critics of its nuclear project.

8216;8216;I8217;ll tell you, they are not concerned with nuclear programmes8230; They are themselves engaged in nuclear activities and they are expanding day by day. They test new brands of weapons of mass destruction every day,8217;8217; Ahmadinejad told a news conference after meeting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

8216;8216;Big powers pretend they are concerned, but it8217;s a big lie,8217;8217; the Iranian leader said.

Iran is under pressure to rein in a nuclear programme it says is for peaceful purposes but some countries fear is really aimed at developing weapons.

Indonesia, the world8217;s most populous Muslim country, has offered to help mediate on the issue, Yudhoyono and his spokesman said. 8216;8216;We can cooperate well in reducing the tension and move toward continuing talks and negotiations,8217;8217; Yudhoyono told reporters.

Spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said 8216;8216;Iran was very receptive8217;8217; to Indonesia8217;s offer to help mediate.

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8216;8216;We hope it will happen. We need to breathe new life into negotiations,8217;8217; he said.

Speaking of a letter sent to US President George W. Bush, which Washington shrugged off as an attempt to divert attention from the nuclear issue, Ahmadinejad said sending it was the right decision and that he had no comment on the US reaction.

Bush received the 18-page letter from Ahmadinejad on Monday, the first publicly announced personal communication from an Iranian President to his US counterpart since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Despite Washington8217;s initial cool reaction, analysts say the letter might buy Tehran more time to pursue its programme and improve its standing as a regional leader.

Tomi Soetjipto and Muklis Ali