Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday, May 17 he hopes to attend this summer's Olympic Games in London but that the British authorities were reluctant to allow him, state media reported, according to AFP.

"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," Ahmadinejad said, without offering further explanation.

"The enemies do not want our athletes to win medals, but our young people shall be present at the Olympic Games and give new reasons to take pride in Islamic Iran," he said, quoted by the official news agency IRNA.