Ahmadinejad Says 'Enemies' behind Iran Protests Won't Achieve Goals

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that the "enemies" who planned the anti-government protests in Tehran on Monday will fail to achieve their goals.

"It is evident and clear that the Iranian nation has enemies because it is a country which wants to shine and achieve its peak and wants to change relations (between countries) in the world," Ahmadinejad said in a live interview on state television.

"Of course there is a lot of animosity, even against the government. But they (protest planners) will not achieve their goals," he said when asked to react to anti-government protests which occurred on Tehran's streets on Monday.

Two people were killed in the protests and several were wounded, including nine members of security forces, officials say.

Thousands of supporters of Iran's opposition groups staged the protest, chanting anti-Ahmadinejad slogans under the pretext of holding a rally in support of Arab uprisings.