Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the illegitimate presence of Western countries is the main cause of insecurity in the Persian Gulf region

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the illegitimate presence of Western countries is the main cause of insecurity in the Persian Gulf region.

In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in GPS program which was aired on Sunday, Ahmadinejad said: “If the Western countries want to establish security in the region, the first thing they should do is to exit from the Middle East region.”

Asked about Iran-Group 5+1 talks, Ahmadinejad noted that Iran has given its offers and it hopes that positive steps would be taken in this regard.

“The US is more important than other negotiators in the nuclear talks and the experience shows that at the time of elections no important decisions are taken in that country and it is only after the elections that decision-making becomes more stable in that country,” he added.

Concerning Iran’s response to any potential Israeli attack, the Iranian President said Iranians have never ushered in a war, but if any attack takes place Iran can fully defend itself. “Iran is not war-monger and what can be seen in the media is normal, because Iranian officials respond to the threats lodged against the country.”

Asked about the ongoing threats by the leaders of the Zionist regime against Iran and the recent statements of President Barack Obama at the UN against Iran, President Ahmadinejad noted that Iran does not regard these threats as serious and the Zionist regime’s threats against Iran is similar to movements by terrorists who lay bombs in certain locations of a country, but none of these can affect a vast country like Iran.