Ban Tackles Syrian Crisis, Iran Nuclear Program with Ahmadinejad UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon discussed with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad the Syrian crisis and nuclear program of the Islamic Republic.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon discussed with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad the Syrian crisis and nuclear program of the Islamic Republic.

During the talks on the sidelines of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio, Ban and Ahmadinejad spoke about the situation in Syria and Iran’s nuclear program, a UN spokesman a UN spokesman said.

The spokesman gave no details about the talks except to say that the pair "exchanged views on the situation in Syria."

Speaking at a press conference in a Rio hotel, Ahmadinejad reiterated Thursday that his country does not want nuclear weapons.
"And there is no formal evidence that we are seeking them," he added.
"Those who (the Israelis) accuse us of (seeking a nuclear weapons capability) have 250,000 nuclear missiles," the Iranian leader said.

"If an atomic bomb is something bad, why does Israel have it?", he pointedly asked. "I think that for them an atomic bomb is not a bad thing. For us it is clear that they do not want Iranian progress."

Asked whether Tehran must take military action if its Syrian ally is invaded, Ahmadinejad replied: "The problem in the region is Western intervention."
"For this domination, they are setting people against each other. They are responsible for the deaths in the civilian population in Syria," he added.

Ban and UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan have spoken out in favor of Iran taking part in an international meeting on Syria that Annan is trying to organize.
The meeting could be held in Geneva on June 30, diplomats said.