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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for the United States to be suspended from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Iranian leader opened a two-day nuclear conference in Tehran Saturday, just days after the U.S. held a similar summit in Washington and pointedly did not invite Iran.

Mr. Ahmadinejad launched a broad attack on the world's nuclear monitors, slamming the structure of the U.N. atomic agency, the U.N. Security Council, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT.

He said nuclear armed countries, in particular the United States, should not be part of the IAEA. That would also include Iran's most powerful backers on the nuclear issue - China and Russia - though their support has been recently wavering.

As an alternative to the current structure of nuclear oversight, the Iranian leader proposed an "independent" international group to monitor nuclear disarmament and stem proliferation.

In that vein, Mr. Ahmadinejad called for a review of the NPT, saying non-nuclear weapon states should revise the treaty. He argued that the U.S. and other nuclear-armed nations would hamper a "just commitment."

Strengthening the NPT was one of the goals of the Washington conference. The U.S. and others say Iran is not living up to its obligations under the treaty, to which it is a signatory. At issue is Tehran's secrecy concerning its nuclear program, which it says is for civilian purposes. Western nations, among other... >>>