Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that from his country’s point of view the nuclear dispute is “closed” even if Western nations are preparing new sanctions against the country over its uranium enrichment program.

Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad said the run-in over Iran’s nuclear program has to be addressed only by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Iranian envoys and IAEA officials have been negotiating a plan that would reveal the unknown aspects of the long-disputed program.

“I officially announce that in our opinion the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed and has turned into an ordinary agency matter,” Ahmadinejad said.

Numerous countries have accused Iran of building nuclear weapons under the umbrella of its civilian program, this concern being expressed by several leaders in their speeches delivered Tuesday.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is an ardent critic of Iran’s uranium enrichment project and agreed with the United States to impose tighter sanctions on the Tehran government.

“If we allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, we would incur an unacceptable risk to stability in the region and in the world,” Sarkozy said Tuesday.

Two rounds of sanctions have been imposed so far by the UN Security Council on Iran, but the regime headed by Ahmadinejad continues to defy the international community’s demands to pull the plug on its uranium enrichment program, that can provide fuel for weapons of mass destruction.

Members of the Security Council plus Germany have met Friday and discussed a third round of harsher sanctions against Iran and discussions are expected to continue this week in New York.

Envoys from Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States and Germany are considering new measures that would eventually convince Ahmadinejad to comply with international requirements.

But the possibility of new sanctions didn’t seem to faze Ahmadinejad who said the threats coming from France and the US are “not important,” because the political aspect of the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program has been closed. However, he said “all our efforts will most certainly be geared toward preventing sanctions.”

In his address to the assembly, reiterated that Iran has been producing nuclear fuel only “for peaceful purposes” and lashed out at a group of “arrogant powers” that are controlling the UN Security Council.

“Among all the ineffective bodies, unfortunately, the UN Security Council ranks first. Abusing the Security Council, the arrogant powers have repeatedly accused Iran and even made military threats and imposed illegal sanctions against it,” Ahmadinejad said.

In a press conference held after the assembly speech, Ahmadinejad also clarified his past statements regarding the “destruction” of Israel saying it would disappear like the Soviet Union did and Palestinians should be allowed to vote on their own independence.

“The Soviet Union: where is it now as an entity? It disappeared,” Ahmadinejad answered when a reporter asked him about past statements that called for the destruction of the Jewish state.

“Was it done through war? No, it was done through the choice of the people. So allow the Palestinian people to decide for themselves,” he added.

The Iranian leader’s visit to New York has been dogged by mass protests and fierce criticism, numerous activists and politicians condemning Ahmadinejad’s stinging remarks.