Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (file photo)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has lashed out at the United States, accusing Washington of trying to "bully" Iran into giving up its nuclear program.

In the southern Iranian city of Bushehr Wednesday, President Ahmadinejad said his country will resist until its right to develop nuclear energy is "fully realized."

Hours earlier, President Bush in his State of the Union address described Iran as a nation "held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people." He accused the Iranian government of sponsoring terrorists in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon - and said that must come to an end.

Mr. Ahmadinejad said the United States is "tainted with the blood of nations" from wars and oppression.

President Bush said the Iranian government is defying the world with its nuclear ambitions, and that other nations must not permit Tehran to develop nuclear weapons.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.