Iran's president starts press conference

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday afternoon started his fifth press conference in which he was expected to talk about its row with Britain over the detained British sailors and Iran's nuclear issue.

The conference, which is being broadcast live on Iranian television, is Ahmadinejad's fifth such conference since he became Iran's president.

After an introduction referring to the Islamic holy book, the Quran, the president criticized the U.S-led invasion into Iraq, the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in southern Lebanon, local TV reported.

The president also said that UN security council failed to prevent bloodshed in Iraq, adding that U.S. and UK played significant role in supporting former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

His press conference was being closely watched as Iran is involved in a standoff with Britain after the Islamic Republic seized 15 British naval personnel on March 23 for "incursion" into Iranian territorial waters.

Ahmadinejad's meeting with the media also came after the UN Security Council adopted a new resolution late March urging Iran to suspend uranium enrichment work "without further delay."

Source: Xinhua