Iran's president has denied Thursday reports that he was targeted by an assassin a day earlie en route to delivering a speech.
Ahmadinejad claimed his enemies exaggerated a firecracker incident near his motorcade to overshadow an important speech he was delivering in the western town of Hamedan.
"Yesterday, during the cabinet's trip to Hamedan province, someone threw a firecracker in front of the government motorcade out of joy and excitement," the Iranian president was quoted as saying on Thursday.
Iran's enemies spread rumors about the supposed assassination attempt in order to "prevent my words from being heard in the world," the Iranian leader said according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.
Tehran has said that Wednesday's explosion near Ahmadinejad's convoy was just an excited fan setting off a firecracker, denying earlier reports of an assassination attempt on the president.
The incident happened as Ahmadinejad was driving to a stadium, where he later addressed supporters and criticized Western demands that Iran halt its nuclear activities.
The blast set off a flurry of media reports, including one that it was a handmade grenade.
Ynet contributed to the report