The sayings of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Iran holds presidential elections this Friday and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, their controversial leader, faces competition from Mir Hossein Musavi, a white-haired 67-year-old who has previously served as the country's Prime Minister.

Musavi has criticised the president's "adventurism, instability, play-acting, exaggeration, self-importance and superficiality", and is gaining significant support for his reformist agenda.

A change in power would certainly be greeted enthusiastically by the Western world - since he became president in 2005, Ahmadinejad has consistently antagonised with his bellicose stance towards Israel and his refusal to stop his country's nuclear power programme. Here are various things that he has said:

On his influenceThe world is rapidly getting 'Ahmadinejadised', if I'm allowed to make a joke. (November 2006, to journalists)

On his enemiesWe thank God that our enemies are idiots. (February 2006, after Iran halted inspections of its nuclear facilities)

In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country

On opposition to his wish to visit the site of the World Trade CenterWhy should it be insulting... Something happened there which led to other events. Many innocent people were killed there. Some of those people were American citizens obviously. We obviously are very much against any terrorist action and any killing. And also we are very much against any plots to sow the seeds of discord among nations. Usually you go to these sites to pay your respects. And also to perhaps 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 respects to the American nation. (September 2007, in an interview with 60 minutes the American investigative television show)

On Iranian homosexualsIn Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country... In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have this. (September 2007, during a question and answer session after he gave a talk at Columbia University)

On IsraelThe world powers established this filthy bacteria, the Zionist regime, which is lashing out at the nations in the region like a wild beast. (February 2008, during a political rally in southern Iran)

Anybody who recognises Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury. (October 2005, at a conference titled 'The World without Zionism' in Tehran)

Some European countries insist on saying that Hitler killed millions of innocent Jews in furnaces... Although we don't accept this claim, if we suppose it is true, our question for the Europeans is: Is the killing of innocent Jewish people by Hitler the reason for their support to the occupiers of Jerusalem? If the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces in Europe - like in Germany, Austria or other countries - to the Zionists and the Zionists can establish their state in Europe. (December 2005, at a news conference in Mecca, Saudi Arabia)

The Zionist regime is an injustice and by its very nature a permanent threat. Whether you like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation. The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm. (April 2006, at a conference on Palestine)

I'm not anti-Jew. Jews are respected by everyone, like all human beings, and I respect them very much. (September 2007, talking to reporters at the UN)

On the repercussions of World War IIIf the Europeans are telling the truth in their claim that they have killed six million Jews in the Holocaust during the World War II - which seems they are right in their claim because they insist on it and arrest and imprison those who oppose it, why should the Palestinian nation pay for the crime? Why have they come to the very heart of the Islamic world and are committing crimes against the dear Palestine using their bombs, rockets, missiles and sanctions? (October 2005, at the World Without Zionism conference)

On American foreign policyCan one be a follower of Jesus Christ... and have countries attacked? The lives, reputations and possessions of people destroyed and on the slight chance of the presence of a few criminals in a village, city, or convoy for example, the entire village, city or convoy set ablaze? (May 2006, in a letter to George W Bush)

On the UN Security CouncilI wish to underline our deep dismay that over 50 Islamic countries encompassing more than 1.2 billion people do not have a permanent seat in the Security Council, nor does Africa with its huge capabilities and potentials, and that the very vast continent of Asia, with its ancient civilizations, has only one permanent seat. (September 2005, at the UN General Assembly in New York, in his first international appearance after becoming President)

On nuclear powerWe believe that atomic energy is a blessing given by God... It's an opportunity. It is a clean energy. It is a healthy energy. (September 2005, to reporters)

On an EU offer to build a light water nuclear reactorDo you think you are dealing with a 4-year-old child to whom you can give some walnuts and chocolates and get gold from him? (May 2006, to thousands at a rally)

On 9/11Could it be planned and executed without coordination, with intelligence and security services - or their extensive infiltration? Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why aren't those responsible and the guilty parties identified and put on trial? (May 2006, in his letter to Bush)

On Middle Eastern stabilityPowerful Iran is the best friend of the neighboring states and the best guarantor of regional security. (August 2005, to the Kuwaiti foreign minister)

On his auraA member of the [Iranian] delegation told me, 'I saw a light that surrounded you'. I sensed it myself too... I felt the atmosphere changed. All leaders in the audience didn't blink for 27, 28 minutes. I'm not exaggerating when I'm saying they didn't blink. Everybody had been astonished... they had opened their eyes and ears to see what is the message from the Islamic Republic. (2005, talking to a cleric about a speech he made to the UN Security Council)

See President Ahmadinejad in action in our exclusive animated series: World Leaders.