Ahmadinejad Leaves Tehran for New York

A number of Iranian high-ranking officials, including eight lawmakers, are accompanying Ahmadinejad in his 3-day visit to New York.

He is due to address the UN General Assembly meeting on its inauguration day along with US President Barack Obama and Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi.

A number of heads of states out of 192 countries in the United Nations have been allowed time to address the meeting.

The meeting which begins on Wednesday focuses on such issues as ways of establishing international peace and security, enhancing development, human rights, humanitarian aid, promoting justice and international laws, disarmament, controlling drugs, preventing crimes and confronting different forms of international terrorism.

Earlier this month, Ahmadinejad's office announced that it was working on the president's itinerary for the visit to New York, mentioning that the office had received a number of requests and proposals in the same regard.

Meeting Iranian expatriates in the US, conferring with the participating heads of state, attending interviews with US media, meeting different religious leaders and addressing American students are among the same requests which might have been included in Ahmadinejad's agenda for the trip.

President Ahmadinejad's visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly conference has raised deep concern among US and Israeli officials as his previous visits to New York yielded much fruit for the Islamic Republic's foreign policy and raised long debates among the US and Israeli political circles.

This is the fifth time that Ahmadinejad is visiting New York to attend the UN General Assembly.