Arrogant Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived here yesterday to angry protests, promising to give Americans “correct and clear information” – and still dodging hard questions about his nation’s intentions.
“You are like a CIA investigator!” Ahmadinejad shrieked as “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley – in an interview recorded in Iran last week and broadcast last night – tried in vain to nail down his true views on supporting terrorists in Iraq and developing a nuclear bomb.
“This is not Guantanamo Bay! This is not a Baghdad prison, this is not a secret prison in Europe. This is not Abu Ghraib. This is Iran. I’m the president of this country!” Ahmadinejad sputtered.
The Iranian president gave the interview on the heels of the furor he sparked by saying he wanted to visit the World Trade Center site and lay a wreath honoring those who died there on 9/11.
His plan led to an outcry by political leaders outraged at his support of terrorism, and the NYPD quickly nixed the move, citing security concerns.
After arriving at Kennedy Airport, Ahmadinejad was taken by motorcade to The InterContinental Barclay on East 48th St.
He then held a private talk with people invited by the Iranian Mission at the New York Hilton.
Today, he’ll speak at Columbia UniverSity – where protest over the speech heated up after comments from the dean who’ll moderate the talk.
In an interview, John Coatsworth said even Hitler would be welcome to speak: “If he were willing to engage in a debate and a discussion, to be challenged by Columbia students and faculty, we would certainly run it.”
Tomorrow, Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address the United Nations.
Before boarding his plane to New York, according to the official Iranian news agency, Ahmadinejad said he was looking forward to speaking here because, “Due to certain issues, the American people in the past years have been denied correct and clear information about global developments and are eager to hear different opinions.”
During his “60 Minutes” interview, when told by Pelley that many Americans found his original idea of visiting Ground Zero insulting, Ahmadinejad said, “Why should it be insulting?
“We obviously are very much against any terrorist action and any killing,” Ahmadinejad said with a straight face.
When Pelley cited hard evidence that Iranian bombs and “know-how” are killing American soldiers in Iraq, and that Ahmadinejad had “American blood on” his hands, the president danced around the question.
“Well, this is what American officials are saying,” Ahmadinejad dodged. “If they accuse us 1,000 times, the truth will not change.”
He repeatedly avoided giving Pelley a straight answer about whether Iran intended to use its uranium-enrichment program to develop a nuclear bomb.
“What are you driving at?” Ahmadinejad demanded to know.
Eventually, he told “60 Minutes” that “in political relations right now, the nuclear bomb has no use.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. military accused Iran yesterday of smuggling surface-to-air missiles and other advanced weapons into Iraq for use against American soldiers.
Military spokesman Rear Adm. Mark Fox said U.S. troops were continuing to find Iranian-supplied weaponry including the Misagh 1, a portable surface-to-air missile that uses an infrared guidance system.
While in New York, Ahmadinejad will receive the highest-level security afforded VIPs, law-enforcement sources told The Post. That protection will include him being accompanied by an ambulance, an NYPD Emergency Services Unit truck and several radio cars, as well as machine-gun toting ESU officers and Secret Service agents.
But if he tries to renege on his promise not to go to Ground Zero, he will be out of luck. Sources said authorities will refuse to let Ahmadinejad travel there, even if he demands it.
As the Iranian leader buzzed around town, the furor continued over his talk at Columbia, where he’s to be questioned by President Lee Bollinger.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said on CNN, “If I were a president of the university, I would not have invited him. He’s a Holocaust denier. He’s a supporter of terrorism.”
And Assembly Speaker Sheldon Speaker threatened to reduce state aid to the school, the New York Sun reported.
Outside Columbia, about 70 protesters gathered to slam the school for hosting Ahmadinejad.
Additional reporting by Tatiana Deligiannakis, Tim Perone, Brian Hamacher, Charles Hurt and Jamie Schram