“The US and Britain are the source of many tensions. At the Security Council, where they have to protect security, they enjoy the veto right. If anybody confronts them, there is no place to take complaints to,” he said during a press conference in the Iranian capital on Tuesday.

The UN Security Council has given Iran until Thursday to suspend a key part of its nuclear programme—the enrichment of uranium, a process that can produce either fuel for a reactor or material for weapons. But Iran has refused any immediate suspension, calling the deadline as illegal.

Ahmadinejad on Tuesday also called for having a televised debate with US President George W. Bush on world issues, which the White House immediately dismissed as a “diversion from the legitimate concerns of the international community”.

Meanwhile, France is ready to renew dialogue with iran on ending the standoff over its nuclear programme but will continue to insist that Tehran suspend uranium enrichment, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said today.

“The Iranian authorities say they are open to dialogue and ready to resume discussions,” Douste-Blazy told a meeting of French ambassadors. “Without abandoning the demand to suspend sensitive activities, France is also ready to renew dialogue. But it must be a clear, concrete and responsible dialogue,” he said.

“We want this dialogue quickly, with a desire for serious discussion and with the concern to finally find solutions to the Iranian nuclear problem,” he added.

US Visa for Khatami: The US has decided to issue a visa to former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami to give a speech in Washington next month. “The decision was made,” Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman said yesterday. “If he does intend to travel to the US for the purposes for which a visa was requested then it is my understanding that the visa will be issued.” Khatami, president from 1997 to 2005, would be the seniormost Iranian to visit the US since diplomatic ties ended in 1979.