Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said this morning that Western countries' expressions of concern over its nuclear policies were a "big lie".
"I'll tell you, they are not concerned with nuclear programmes ... They are themselves engaged in nuclear activities and they are expanding day by day. They test new brands of weapons of mass destruction every day," he told a news conference on a visit to fellow Muslim nation Indonesia.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
"Big powers pretend (they) are concerned, but it's a big lie," he said. Mr Ahmadinejad said Iranian people resented "incorrect decisions" taken by the international community. "The Iranian people are sufficiently capable to defend (their) own rights," he added.
Speaking of a letter sent to US President George W Bush, which Washington shrugged off as an attempt to divert attention from the nuclear issue, Mr Ahmadinejad said sending it was the right decision and that he had no comment on the US reaction.
Earlier, Indonesia greeted Mr Ahmadinejad with a 21-gun salute as he began meetings overshadowed by the Islamic republic's controversial nuclear policies.
Iran is under pressure to rein in a nuclear programme it says is for peaceful purposes but some countries fear is really aimed at developing weapons.
The United States has pushed for international action on the issue, and with a group of nations including China and Russia has authorised Britain, France and Germany to work on a package of carrots and sticks to entice Iran to change its programme.
President Bush received the 18-page letter from Mr Ahmadinejad on Monday, the first publicly announced personal communication from an Iranian president to his US counterpart since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The prime purpose of Mr Ahmadinejad's visit to Indonesia is not the nuclear issue but development of economic ties.