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 Iran's president has launched a scathing attack on Western powers, accusing them of spreading "war, bloodshed, aggression, terror and intimidation" in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Tehran was "prepared to warmly shake all those hands which are honestly extended to us".

But he accused the West of hypocrisy - saying it preached democracy yet violated its fundamental principles - and added that it was time for the world to respond.

"The awakening of nations and the expansion of freedom worldwide will no longer allow them to continue their hypocrisy and vicious attitudes," he said.