Xinhua - English

TEHRAN, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that he is willing to hold a debate with U.S. President George W. Bush at the UN General Assembly in mid-September in New York.

"We hope to take our forthcoming visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly as an opportunity to hold a debate without any censorship," Ahmadinejad said in a statement posted on his official website.

"This will allow the people, especially the Americans, to watch and hear the debate," he added.

The Iranian president said he hoped the Americans would not evade such a debate because it would be "the best way to create peace."

Ahmadinejad in late August proposed a live television debate with his U.S. counterpart on "world issues". But the White House dismissed the offer as merely a diversion from Iran's nuclear issue.

On Tuesday, in a speech on the war against terrorism, Bush vowed not to allow Iran to get nuclear weapons and urged the Iranian leadership to "make a different choice."

"I am not going to allow this to happen. And no future American president can allow it, either," the U.S. president said.

"Their choice is increasingly isolating the great Iranian nation from the international community. It is time for Iran's leader to make a different choice," Bush said.

The United States has accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of civilian nuclear programs. Iran insisted that its nuclear programs are for peaceful purposes only.

The United States is now seeking to impose sanctions on Iran for its refusal to comply with a UN Security Council resolution demanding a suspension of its uranium enrichment.

The UN Security Council adopted the resolution in late July urging Tehran to suspend by Aug. 31 all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, or face prospect of sanctions.

Last Thursday, the IAEA chief Mohammed ElBaradei presented a report to the Security Council, saying "Iran has continued enriching uranium despite a UN nuclear deadline for it to suspend or face possible sanctions." Enditem