Ahmadinejad rejects US plot accusations

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday an alleged plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States was fabricated by Washington to cause a rift between Tehran and Saudi Arabia and divert attention from US economic problems.

"By accusing Iran they are not going to achieve anything," Ahmadinejad said in a live interview on Al Jazeera television. When asked whether he thought Iran and the United States were on an inevitable "collision course" towards military conflict, he replied: "I don't think so. I think that there are some people in the US administration who want this to happen but I think there are wise people in the US administration who know they shouldn't do such a thing." (Reuters)