Ahmadinejad Plans U.S. Visit

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit New York to address the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23 in his first visit to a Western country since his controversial June election. The government claimed he won in a landslide but the opposition contends the election was stolen. International condemnation followed the regime's crackdown on opposition protesters. The visit will also come shortly after the Sept. 15 deadline for Iran to respond to the White House’s offer of open negotiations about the nation’s nuclear program. German and French leaders on Monday called for “a strengthening of sanctions” if Iran does not agree to cooperate. Iranian press adviser Ali Akbar Javanfekr declined to comment on the U.S. government’s offer of nuclear program talks.