Ahmadinejad also accused the United States of fabricating a purported secret Iranian document that appears to lay out a plan for developing a key component of an atomic bomb.

Ahmadinejad’s remarks underscored Tehran’s defiance in the nuclear standoff — and appeared designed to show that his government has not been weakened by the protest movement sparked by June’s disputed presidential election. He spoke a day after another opposition protest — by tens of thousands mourning a dissident cleric who died over the weekend.

Late Tuesday, the Web site of state-run television said Ahmadinejad has appointed a new chief of Iran’s prestigious Academy of Arts, removing opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi from his last public post.

– Associated Press

Attack at cleric’s home: Members of an Islamic militia and plainclothes security forces attacked the home of a senior pro-reform cleric, Grand Ayatollah Yusuf Saanei, in the holy Shiite city of Qom, a reformist Web site said.

– Reuters

Lloyds TSB settles in wire transfer case

The Treasury Department says Lloyds TSB Bank has agreed to a $217 million settlement stemming from allegations that the British bank manipulated money transfers to allow customers to skirt U.S. financial sanctions against Iran and other countries.