An aide to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told an Iranian daily Tuesday that security forces foiled a plot to kill the president during a conference in Italy earlier this month. Ahmadinejad recently has accused the United States and other western countries with trying to kidnap and murder him when he visited Iraq three months ago.

Presidential adviser Ali Zabihi said both plots were aborted. "The actions of the president over the three previous years have endangered the illegitimate interests of many people in Iran and outside," Zabihi told the Fars news agency. He accused American President George W. Bush of ordering the planned assassination.