Ahmadinejad plans NY trip in 'mid-September'

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to travel to New York and deliver a speech at the 64th annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

The visit, which will be President Ahmadinejad's first trip to the West since he took office for a second term after the presidential election in June, will begin next Tuesday, September 15.

President Ahmadinejad is expected to address the assembly on 'establishment of global peace, a world without nuclear weapons, a secure Middle East, and a campaign to resist arrogant powers as well as urging state members to adopt a stance on Israel's war crimes, the Iranian Labor News Agency.

Since his 2005, the Iranian president has regularly attended UN summits at the United Nations headquarters in New York and delivered controversial speeches.

The visit will also coincide with a September deadline set by the United States for Iran to respond to an offer of negotiations to resolve the country's nuclear dispute.

The Obama administration on Friday announced its readiness to meet face-to-face with Iranian officials, the New York Times reported.

This comes as Iran faces pressure to halt its nuclear enrichment, as world powers believe its program is aimed at building a nuclear bomb.

Tehran, however, has denied seeking nuclear weapons and called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction across the globe.