“A feisty interview,” is what the Associated Press called it.

Boy, was it ever.

Sitting down with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a provocative,  if not unsettling, experience.

At one point he accused me of judging him, and asked if I was representing the U.S. government AND the United Nations Security Council.

And he asserted “it is true you are backed by the Defense Department of the United States.”

I am?

“You are speaking on the part of the U.S. government,” he said.

“No sir,” I answered. “I am a journalist. I am an independent, objective journalist.”

“But right now you said that the U.S. government has condemned Iran, and that the U.N. Security Council has, and do you represent them?”

“No I do not,” I shot back. “I am representing fact.”

I asked him about his controversial comments about 9/11, in which he claimed that most people believe that the American government was actually behind the terrorist attacks. I asked how he could say such “an insane and nutty thing” and insult millions of Americans. Using words like “insane” and “nutty” during an interview is not my typical style. Then again, this was hardly a garden variety interview. And Ahmadinejad certainly has never hesitated to lob the most potentially insulting and incendiary accusations towards our country and head of state.  I asked what proof he had for such a claim, and pointed out that Usama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda have publicly taken credit for the attacks. He said he was insulted — ironic, given his own comments — and explained that he was not giving his own opinion, but merely exploring some of the theories that have been raised about 9/11.

“I did not give an opinion of my own,” he said. “I actually suggested that a fact- finding group, a mission be formed to delve into the truth. Do you think that the entire world has to accept what the U.S. government tells them?”

President Ahmadinejad again denied that Iran is trying to develop a nuclear bomb, and I asked why anyone should believe him considering the fact that Iran is violating four United Nations Security Council resolutions.

“We do not insist that you should believe us,” he said. “We’ve never said that you should. You are free not to believe us. But why would you insist on exposing your view on us with resolutions, with force?”

He said he would not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Why should I meet him?” he asked. And he denied Iran supports terrorism, saying “from the day American troops and the allied troops entered Iraq and Afghanistan, terrorists have increased one-hundred fold…we are victims of terrorism.”

He often answered questions with questions, and didn’t want to be interrupted, as I repeatedly tried to clarify and challenge some of his assertions. He accused me “of almost arguing” with him. It’s hard not to “almost argue” with someone who looks you straight in the eye and suggests that your government is behind the killing of thousands of its own people.  It’s hard not to “almost argue” with someone who would represent himself as a purveyor of peace, even as his regime continually  defies  Security Council resolutions regarding its disputed nuclear program and condones the stoning of its own people.  It’s hard not to “almost argue” with someone who has questioned the Holocaust  and  has called for wiping Israel off the map.

And at the end of the day, he insists that his message to the “good people of America” is one of  peace and good will….. a message, delivered, as all his statements seems to be, with a smile.

More portions of the interview can be seen on the Fox News Channel on Sunday, September 26th at 11 a.m. EST, on “America’s News Headquarters.”