Iranian leader tells AP that his country would like to help in Afghanistan, blames chaos on US

September 22nd, 2009 Iran says it is open to nuclear weapons discussionNEW YORK — Iran's leader is telling The Associated Press that he expects open discussion of nuclear issues at a planned meeting with officials from the U.S. and five other powers.

September 22nd, 2009 Ahmadinejad tells AP Iran is an opportunity for USNEW YORK — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE'-neh-zhahd) says his country is not a threat to the United States as President Barack Obama has said, but "an opportunity." In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, the Iranian leader refused to give an explicit opinion of his American counterpart. "Is this a question to test my IQ?" he said in response.

July 31st, 2009 Iran blames foreign countries for protester deathsTEHRAN, Iran — The Iranian foreign minister is blaming foreign countries for the deaths of opposition supporters in Iran's post-election turmoil. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets since the June 12 presidential election, claiming the vote was fraudulent.

July 15th, 2009 State TV: 168 killed in Iran plane crashTEHRAN, Iran — State TV says 168 people were killed when a passenger plane crashed Wednesday in northwest Iran. Iranian Civil Aviation Organization spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh had told state television that 153 passengers and 15 crewmembers were on the Russian-made Caspian Airlines jet that had been headed from Tehran to the Armenian capital yerevan.

July 15th, 2009 TEHRAN, Iran — A passenger plane carrying 150 people crashed Wednesday in northwest Iran, and all on board were feared dead, state media reported. The Caspian Airlines jet was heading from Tehran to the Armenian capital Yerevan when it crashed near the village of Jannatabad outside the city of Qazvin, around 75 miles northwest of Tehran, state television said.

June 26th, 2009 Obama doesn't take apology demand seriouslyWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he doesn't take seriously the demand from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for an apology. The Iranian leader made that demand while accusing Obama of meddling in Iranian affairs by speaking in support of the demonstrators challenging the results of Iran's election.

June 21st, 2009 Lugar: Possible 'very brutal' end to Iran chaosWASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Lugar says Iran's supreme leader has pushed the conflict there toward a "very brutal outcome." The Indiana Republican, one of the Senate's most respected voices on foreign affairs, says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has put himself in the center of the postelection uprising.

June 19th, 2009 Key points from Khamenei addressKey points from the Friday prayers address by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Dismisses charges of voting rigging in the June 12 presidential election and sides with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who official results showed was the landslide winner. This effectively closes the door on chances for a recount or new election.

May 5th, 2009 GOP senator blames McConnell for Specter defectionFRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky's embattled junior senator is blaming GOP leader Mitch McConnell for losing Arlen Specter to the Democrats and costing the party Senate seats.

April 25th, 2009 Iran's leader blames US, Israel for Iraq attacksTEHRAN, Iran — Iran's supreme leader blamed the United States and Israel on Saturday for recent suicide attacks in Iraq that have killed dozens of Iranian Shiite Muslim pilgrims. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments come as U.S.

March 27th, 2009 BRUSSELS - Diplomats from the NATO and Iran held their first talks in 30 years here, focusing on possible cooperation on Afghanistan, an official said here. An Iranian diplomat met NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy Martin Erdmann, the alliance's spokesman James Appathurai told reporters.

March 12th, 2009 TEHRAN - Iran Thursday said it has accepted the US invitation to a conference on Afghanistan and was ready for talks to help resolve the crisis in the war-torn country, Press TV reported. 'Afghanistan and Iran share a long border, so Afghan security and development is naturally an important priority of ours,' Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said Wednesday.

March 10th, 2009 NEW YORK - The United Nations envoy for Afghanistan was in Tehran Monday to discuss economic cooperation among Central Asian nations and between Iran and Afghanistan, the UN said. Kai Eide, the top UN representative in Afghanistan, addressed a high-level meeting in Tehran of the 10-nation Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), which is an inter-governmental group promoting mutual economic, technical and cultural support in Central Asia.

March 7th, 2009 BERLIN - Iran will not allow NATO forces to use its territory to transit non-military supplies to Afghanistan, an Iranian legislator said here Friday. Alaeddin Boroujerdi said: 'Iran is not interested in becoming a logistic bridge for NATO.' He made the remarks at a press briefing at the Iranian Embassy in Berlin, IRNA reported.

February 18th, 2009 YAZD - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has blamed the US policies for the current insecurities in the world and urged countries not to accept 'politics without ethics', MehrNews reported Thursday. 'If the oppressors of the world continue their past crimes, they will surely suffer the same fate as Bush's,' the Iranian leader said while addressing thousands of people in Yazd province Wednesday.