Portraying himself to be as tough as his domestic critics, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran criticized nuclear-armed powers on Wednesday, singling out the United States and Israel for what he described as false and hypocritical warnings about Iranian atomic ambitions.
In a speech, Mr. Rouhani repeated his government’s claim that it neither covets nuclear weapons nor aspires to have them. That is a central issue in the prolonged international negotiations over Iranian nuclear activities, which Iran asserts are for purely peaceful purposes.
“They tell us, ‘We don’t want Iran to make atomic bombs’ — you who have made atomic bombs,” Mr. Rouhani said sarcastically.
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But last week they agreed to delay a vote until after March 24, deferring to Mr. Obama’s argument that such a vote would sabotage the negotiations.
A version of this article appears in print on February 5, 2015, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Iran’s Leader Accuses West Of Distorting Atomic Plans. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
