Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Western nations on Wednesday of hypocrisy and said their expressions of concern over nuclear programmes were a "big lie."

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (R) greets visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L) at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta May 10, 2006. [Reuters]

"I'll tell you, they are not concerned with nuclear programmes ... They are themselves engaged in nuclear activities and they are expanding day by day. They test new brands of weapons of mass destruction every day," he told a news conference during a visit to fellow Muslim nation Indonesia.

"Big powers pretend (they) are concerned, but it's a big lie," he said.

Ahmadinejad said Iranian people resented "incorrect decisions" taken by the international community.

"The Iranian people are sufficiently capable to defend (their) own rights," he added.

Iran is under pressure to rein in a nuclear programme it says is for peaceful purposes but some countries fear is really aimed at developing weapons.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has offered to help mediate on the issue, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his spokesman said after Yudhoyono met Ahmadinejad.

"We can cooperate well in reducing the tension and move toward continuing talks and negotiations," Yudhoyono told reporters.

Spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said "Iran was very receptive" to Indonesia's offer to help mediate.

"We hope it will happen. We need to breathe new life into negotiations," he said.

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