Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad later gave his address to a half-empty General Assembly chamber. Ahmadinejad brushed off the massive protests against his government following Iran’s recent disputed elections.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: “Our nation has successfully gone through a glorious and fully democratic election, opening a new chapter for our country in the march toward national progress and enhanced international interactions. They entrusted me, once more, with a large majority of this heavy responsibility.”

Ahmadinejad didn’t mention the standoff over Iran’s nuclear activities and criticized the UN Security Council for concentrating power in a small number of major world powers. At one point, scores of delegates walked out of the room as Ahmadinejad criticized the Israeli government.