Ahmadinejad says "enemies" tried to kill him

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States and its allies of plotting to assassinate him during a visit to neighbouring Iraq in March, state radio reported on Friday.

"Based on reliable intelligence, our enemies had plans to kidnap and kill your servant (Ahmadinejad). But we intentionally made last minute changes in our schedule," the radio quoted Ahmadinejad telling a meeting of clerics in the Shi'ite holy city of Qom on Thursday.

Although he did not identify the United States by name, he used the usual term "enemies" to refer to Washington.

A senior U.S. military official in Baghdad said: "The Coalition is unaware of any threats to President Ahmadinejad's life during his

visit to Iraq."

During the first visit by an Iranian leader to Iraq since the neighbours fought an eight-year war in the 1980s, Ahmadinejad cancelled his scheduled visit to Shi'ite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf in southern Iraq.

The presidential office said at the time the trip was cancelled for security reasons.

"The enemies learned about the changes when we already had left Iraq. They were shocked," the radio quoted him as saying.