Today in Iran, Scott Pelley taped an exclusive interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to air this Sunday. In excerpts posted on CBSNews.com, Ahmadinejad tells Pelley he “won’t insist” on visiting Ground Zero, after the NYPD denied his request to do so.
“Sir, what were you thinking?” Pelley asks in return. “The World Trade Center site is the most sensitive place in the American heart, and you must have known that visiting there would be insulting to many, many Americans.”
“Why should it be insulting?” Ahmadinejad asks.
Pelley responds by saying, “Well, sir, you’re the head of government of an Islamist state that the United States government says is a major exporter of terrorism around the world.” Later, Pelley adds, “You must have known that visiting the World Trade Center site would infuriate many Americans.”
“Well, I’m amazed. How can you speak for the whole of the American nation?” Ahmadinejad asks. “You are representing a media and you’re a reporter. The American nation is made up of 300 million people. There are different points of view over there.”