Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was taken to task Monday for casting doubt on the Holocaust, during a forum at Columbia University in New York.
Columbia president Lee Bollinger told the Iranian leader he exhibited "all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," to enthusiastic applause from the audience.
He then said Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust came across as foolish in front of an audience of students and teachers.
"When you come to a place like this it makes you simply ridiculous," said Bollinger. "The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history."
But Ahmadinejad replied that Bollinger's words were "an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here."
He accused Bollinger of being influenced by U.S. politicians and biased news agencies.
"I should not begin by being affected by this unfriendly treatment," he said.
Ahmadinejad quoted extensively from the Koran during his appearance, expounded on the relationship between science and enlightenment, and claimed Iran itself was a victim of U.S.-supported terrorists.
He said members of the Iranian government had been killed in an attack by U.S.-supported terrorists, though he didn't name the alleged attackers or provide other details.
He also spoke out against governments that "tap telephones" and was critical of what he described as governments that unleash an "onslaught on the domestic cultures of nations."
Ahmadinejad didn't directly answer a questions about whether he sought the destruction of Israel, but instead discussed the plight of the Palestinian people. He received loud cheers from the packed auditorium when he demanded whether or not the Palestinian situation was an important global issue.
Ahmadinejad also claimed European academics have been put in prison for "approaching the Holocaust from a different perspective," and defended Iran's nuclear ambitions. He said Iran has the right to develop nuclear technology and has never intended to use it for violence, nor has it hid anything from international inspectors.
At another point, Ahmadinejad denied that any homosexuals lived in Iran -- a comment that prompted derisive laughter from the audience.
Unfazed, Ahmadinejad persisted: "In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have this."
He spoke to The Associated Press prior to delivering the speech at Columbia and a scheduled address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
"Iran will not attack any country," he told AP in an interview.
Ahmadinejad, who has in the past referred to the Holocaust as "a myth" and called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," added that Iran has always maintained a defensive stance as opposed to an offensive one.
He also said he doesn't believe the U.S. is planning to attack Iran.
"That is not how I see it. ... I believe that some of the talk in this regard arises first of all from anger. Secondly, it serves the electoral purposes domestically in this country. Third, it serves as a cover for policy failures over Iraq."
Ahmadinejad seemed to strike a diplomatic tone during the interview, AP reported, describing Iran's foreign policy as based on humanitarian concerns and the pursuit of justice.
The controversial leader sparked outrage over the weekend after he said that he wanted to visit "Ground Zero."
Police and New York City officials have already said he won't be allowed to go to the site because of security concerns.
Ahmadinejad told the CBS news show "60 Minutes," in an interview taped in Iran on Thursday, that he doesn't believe that his visit would be considered insulting by all Americans.
"Why should it be insulting?" he said in the interview, which broadcast Sunday.
"Usually you go to these sites to pay your respects. And also to perhaps to air your views about the root causes of such incidents. I think that when I do that, I will be paying, as I said earlier, my respect to the American nation."
However, he said he won't push the issue if he is not permitted to go.
With files from The Associated Press
