CNN's Piers Morgan Battles With Ahmadinejad Over Homosexuality

"wish to legitimize stealing"

The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad doesn't often grant interviews to members of the American media, but CNN has snagged yet another exclusive and it will air tonight at 9pm ET/PT.

According to clips pre-released by CNN, Morgan discussed homosexuality, the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, and Iranian-Israeli relations with Ahmadinejad.

Morgan asked the violently homophobic leader: "Shouldn't freedom and individuality and all those things also extend to people who just happen to be gay? ...Wouldn't it be great for the President of Iran to say you know [what], everyone's entitled to be whatever sexuality they are born to be?"

After Ahmadinejad said he does not believe people are born gay, he insisted that such people "wish to legitimize stealing."

Watch his explanation, below:

Morgan also discussed the recent attacks on U.S. outposts in the Middle East, and the wave of unrest sweeping the region.

"The big catalyst for protests at the moment in the Middle East was the that was released which mocked the Prophet Mohammed," Morgan stated. "Do you condemn the attack which caused his murder?"

While Ahmadinejad gave lip service to resolving conflicts in a more "humane atmosphere," he essentially said the attacks might stop if the West refrains from the "abuse of freedom" he claims prompted the violence. Noting that offending Muhammad is a crime in "many places," Ahmadinejad equated freedom of speech with destruction and murder:

I do think that [extremism] gives birth to following and subsequent extremists. Perhaps if the politicians take a better position in the West vis-a-vis offensive words, or thoughts, or pictures towards what we hold holy, [conditions] will improve.

See more, below:

On Israeli-Iranian relations, Ahmadinejad turned the tables on the traditional argument, saying it has a right to defend itself from Israeli aggression.

Traditionally, Israelis cite Iranian leaders' repeated promises to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, or its longstanding funding of terrorist groups that attack Israel, as justifications for preventing it from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Now Ahmadinejad has apparently caught on to the winning argument, and is modeling himself as the victim.

The dictator, who leads a country in which the daughters of dissidents are sexually attacked before they are killed so they don't go to heaven, asked:

My question is this, why should the world be managed in such a way that an individual can allow himself to threaten a rich and deeply-rooted historical, ancient country, such as Iran. A great country, such as Iran, based on an excuse of his own fabrication.

Watch the entire clip, below: