Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday defied protests against his re-election by visiting Russia for a summit where he baited the United States by saying "the age of empires has ended."

Tehran has been gripped by the biggest anti-government protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The unrest comes after disputed official results showed Ahmadinejad scored a landslide in Friday's election.

Ahmadinejad arrived a day late in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), where Iran has observer status.