Iran: Ahmadinejad was target of foiled U.S. 'X-ray plot'

American agents made an attempt on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's life during his visit to the UN food summit in Rome last month, Iran's IRNA news agency has reported.

Former Iranian ambassador to Rome said that Ahmadinejad's bodyguards had foiled the American "X-ray plot," whereby the Iranian leader was to be exposed to excessive radiation.

The bodyguards found that the metal detectors installed at the ambassador's residence gave off radiation measuring three times the normal level, the former ambassador said.

The three-day summit at the UN Food and Agriculture headquarters in Rome was meant to tackle acute emergencies caused by soaring food prices across the globe, and how to help small farmers in poor countries produce enough food.

Addressing delegates from over 50 countries, Ahmadinejad attacked Western policies as responsible for the growing famine across the world.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Iran rejected comparison of its nuclear program with that of North Korea.

"The Iranian nuclear program has a peaceful nature and any comparison in this regard is simply wrong," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said.