Later Friday, he attended prayers at Jakarta's Grand Mosque, reputed to be
Southeast Asia's largest. Several thousand people were gathered for Friday
prayers, some holding children on their shoulders to see the Iranian leader.
"My brothers, Islam will be the victor and tyranny will be defeated," he said
after praying. A small group of hard-liners there shouted, "Fight America, fight
Israel!"
Later in the day, he was to fly to the resort island of Bali to take part in
a development conference.
The nuclear issue has dominated his trip.
This week, key U.N. Security Council members agreed to postpone a resolution
that would have delivered an ultimatum to Tehran, giving Iran another two weeks
to reevaluate its insistence on developing its uranium enrichment capabilities.
If Tehran refuses to cooperate, it could set the stage for measures ranging
from breaking diplomatic relations to economic sanctions and military action.
The Iranian leader brushed off the sanction threat, saying in an interview
with Metro TV on Thursday that the West had more to lose than Tehran did if it
was internationally isolated. Sanctions would serve only to "motivate" the
country's nuclear scientists, he said.
Asked what it would take to begin talks with the United States to resolve the
standoff, Ahmadinejad told the station Iran was "ready to engage in dialogue
with anybody."
"But if someone points a weapon at your face and says you must speak, will
you do that?"
On Thursday, he told around 1,000 cheering students that every country should
have the right to new technology to meet energy needs.
"If nuclear technology is such a bad thing, why do you (Western countries)
have it?" Ahmadinejad said.
