TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday called the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States a “big fabrication” that was used to justify the US war on terrorism, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West and Israel, made the comment in a meeting with Intelligence Ministry personnel.
It came amid escalating tension in the long-running dispute between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear programme, with the United States pushing for new UN sanctions against the major oil producer.
Ahmadinejad described the destruction of the twin towers in New York on Sept 11, 2001 as a “complicated intelligence scenario and act,” IRNA reported.
He added: “The Sept 11 incident was a big fabrication as a pretext for the campaign against terrorism and a prelude for staging an invasion against Afghanistan.” He did not elaborate.
Nearly 3,000 people died in the hijacked airliner attacks on New York and Washington, which were carried out by al Qaeda operatives.