Obama slams Ahmadinejad over his 9/11 comments

Washington: US President Barack Obama has hit out at his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for saying that America was behind the 9/11 attacks.

Ahmadinejad in his speech at the UN had suggested that the US was involved in the 9/11 attacks.

While speaking to BBC, the President called the comments hateful and inexcusable. Obama lashed out at Ahmadinejad for the latest of what the White House called a long list of outrageous comments that would deepen Tehran's isolation from the international community.

"It was offensive. It was hateful. And particularly for him to make that statement here in Manhattan, just a little north of Ground Zero, where families lost their loved ones -- people of all faiths, all ethnicities who see this as the seminal tragedy of this generation,” said Obama.

“For him to make a statement like that was inexcusable. And it stands in contrast to the response of the Iranian people when 9/11 happened. There were candlelight vigils and I think a natural sense of shared humanity and sympathy was expressed within Iran. And it just shows once again the difference between how the Iranian leadership and this regime operates and how I think the vast majority of the Iranian people, who are respectful and thoughtful, think about these issues," he added.