Ahmadinejad fears UK won't allow him to attend Olympics

Tehran, May 18 (ANI): Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed a wish to attend this year's London Olympics, but said the British authorities were reluctant to invite him.

"I would like to be beside the Iranian athletes at the Olympic Games in London to support them, but [the British] have issues with my presence," the News York Post quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

Relations between Tehran and London are at an all-time low.

In February 2011, Iran protested against the official logo of the 2012 Olympics to International Olympic Committee, claiming it to be 'racist'.

According to Tehran, the word 'Zion' in the logo was readable.

The London organizing committee had described Iran's claim as 'surprising,' adding that it was "modern, bold and flexible" and would appeal to a younger audience

London had also closed its embassy in Tehran after Islamist students charged it in November 2011.

Britain was one of the first European countries to place sanctions against the Iranian Central Bank to put pressure on Tehran to end its disputed nuclear program. (ANI)