Tehran (dpa) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday blamed some circles within the United States of putting him in the same boat as the head of the terrorist network al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden.

“Some US circles wanted to sabotage my trip to New York by for example putting my picture next to bin Laden,” Ahmadinejad told the news network Khabar.

Ahmadinejad also blamed the US government and New York City officials for rejecting his request to visit the site of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“All I wanted to do was pay my respect and tribute at the site to the victims but this simple request was rejected,” he said.

Ahmadinejad said that the world in general and the US in particular should evaluate the roots of the September 11 attack and not simply take the occasion to create general prejudice and suspicion.

Ahmadinejad compared the status of September 11 to the Holocaust, saying that both issues were used against the Islamic world.

Iranian officials and state media have in recent days accused the US of failing in its alleged effort to distort Ahmadinejad’s image during his visit to the United Nations General Assembly.