Iran's president spurns U.S. offer

TEHRAN, Iran - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad railed against the United States in a speech yesterday, showing little indication of embracing Washington's offer of engagement, a day after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said time was running out.

Tension between the two countries has increased after Ahmadinejad's disputed reelection victory last month. The controversy seemed to claim its latest victim yesterday as the government announced that the head of Iran's nuclear agency had resigned.

Officials gave no reason for Gholam Reza Aghazadeh's resignation, but he has long been close to opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who says that he was the victor in the June 12 presidential election and that Ahmadinejad's government was illegitimate.

Iran Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, speaking on the sidelines of a summit in Egypt, said he did not think Aghazadeh's departure would change Iran's nuclear policy. Aghazadeh was not involved in negotiations with the West, and ultimately all policy decisions lie with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

President Obama has offered to engage Iran in dialogue with the hope of reducing tension over Iran's nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at developing a nuclear weapon but which Tehran maintains is peaceful.

Obama has said that Iran has until the end of the year to respond positively to Washington's offer. Clinton reinforced the sense of urgency Wednesday, saying, "The time for action is now."

But Iran's government has accused the United States and other countries of inciting the massive protests that followed the election and has bridled against criticism of the state's violent crackdown.

"They tried to interfere in our elections," Ahmadinejad told a crowd of thousands in the northwest city of Mashhad. "They talked nonsense. They were rude. They fomented aggression against people's wealth and property."

The United States and others have denied the allegations, but Ahmadinejad demanded an apology yesterday as a necessary step.

"They should know we are prepared to negotiate on mutual respect and justice," he said. "If they act otherwise, we will give the same reply we gave to President Bush that has been buried in history."

While Bush was in office, Aghazadeh pushed steadily ahead with Iran's nuclear program. Several times in the last year, he announced advances in manufacturing centrifuges, a key component of Iran's uranium-enrichment program.

A spokesman for Iran's atomic energy department said Aghazadeh would explain his resignation decision himself.

It was not known whether the resignation was connected to the election dispute. But if Aghazadeh, who held his post for 12 years, was pushed out or walked away because of differences over the election, that could signal a narrowing base of support for Ahmadinejad.